Broken
by xxTigerAvatarxx
Summary: Zuko never rescued Aang in "The Blue Spirit". Instead, he ends up in Zhao's own makeshift hell with Aang and changes sides upon seeing the condition of the young Avatar. Will Aang ever be the same? Mild Kataang. Zukaang FRIENDSHIP. FIRST AVATAR FANFIC, PLEASE BE GENTLE! CONTAINS MILD SWEARING AND ***GRAPHIC*** RAPE IN SOME CHAPTERS. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! Chapter 22 is up!
1. 1: Zhao

**I no owns nothing... no sues me**

"So this is the great Avatar. Master of all the elements."

Looking down his nose at Aang, Admiral Zhao was a fairly tall man; his armor gleamed in the firelight. He wore his hair in the traditional style of the Fire Nation - a style that hadn't really changed, Aang realized absently, over the last century - and he didn't even crack a smile as he mocked Aang. His voice leaked with malice and contempt and… something else. Boredom?

The room that contained him was built of stone. No one in their right mind would try to trap an Earthbender in a room of stone, even chained up as Aang was now; you'd only make them angry. But Admiral Zhao knew Aang couldn't bend Earth, somehow, even though he knew Aang was the Avatar. The young Avatar grit his teeth and strained against his bonds, but they only chafed and tore at his wrists and ankles; he couldn't bend enough air with his fingers and toes to cut at iron, and even if he could the process would have been too slow.

Time was not something Aang had a lot of at the moment.

Zhao ignored his struggles, walking around the pillars to which Aang was tethered. "I don't know how you managed to elude the Fire Nation for 100 years, but your game of hide and seek is over."

Hide and seek? Aang snarled. "I've never hidden from you! Untie me and I'll fight you right now!" Aang would win, too. Even without water to bend, he was a Master of Airbending; in close quarters he could defeat the Firebender long enough to get away - and back to his ailing friends.

Unfortunately, Zhao wasn't as easy to get to rise to the bait as Fire Nation Prince Zuko. "Uh ... no." He twisted to face the Avatar again, bending close. His breath was hot almost to the point of stinging. "Tell me: how does it feel to be the only Airbender left? Do you miss your people?"

It felt a bit like being punched in the chest. Aang had only been awake in the current era for a few months, and the question raised a flurry of memories like dust picked up on the wind - not the least of which was Monk Gyatso's bones, propped up in the ruins of what had been his home...

He bowed his head and drew a shaking breath through his nose, determined not to cry in front of a Fire Nation officer. He was almost startled to hear Zhao chuckle, and he angrily jerked his head up again. "Oh, don't worry," Zhao said. "You won't be killed like they were."

Aang clenched his teeth. The fires burning atop the pillars he was chained to flickered in a bended breeze. "See, if you die you'll just be reborn and the Fire Nation will have to begin its search all over again. So I'll keep you alive ... but just barely."

With that Zhao raised his hand and whipped it across his prisoner's left cheek. Aang let out a startled cry and grit his teeth against the sheer crudeness of the slap. It was so… primitive. Aang silently swore to himself, _let him do what he please, but don't you dare let him see your pain._ Again, Aang whipped up his head to glare at the Admiral, but the latter was already strutting away. In a split decision powered by his rage, Aang sucked in a large mouthful of air before spitting it back out at Zhao, slamming the Admiral into the steel door.

Zhao climbed to his feet seething. "You may be the "master of all four elements"", Zhao sneered, "but don't forget that you are still my prisoner, and you are still a child. Your incompetence will cost you dearly, young one."

And with that, Aang was left alone. He faintly heard the door slam shut, taking the flames from the torches and leaving the Avatar in sudden darkness. Finally alone, he allowed the tears to fall.


	2. 2: A Promise Kept

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reviewwwww! but be nice :)**

It must have only been a couple hours before Zhao returned, flanked by two men. Aang was awakened by the return of light in his cell. Immediately he glared at the men and the torches briefly flickered.

Zhao didn't seem to notice as he ordered the men away. Looking hesitant at leaving the Admiral with the esteemed Avatar, they reluctantly left the cell. Saying nothing, Zhao walked towards Aang, their eyes never leaving one another's, and bent over so that their faces were level. Aang jerked away from the Admiral's foul stench, but Zhao grabbed his jaw and lifted it to face him.

"I was going to show you mercy, young Avatar, since you are only a child. However, under the circumstances of your little rebellion earlier, I think I can justify my actions." He smirked and slowly heated his hand. Aang refused to show any indication of the pain, biting his cheek to keep from screaming.

Zhao turned it up a notch and the skin around Aang's neck began to blister under the heat and a whimper escaped Aang's cracked lips. He was promptly released.

"You're brave, young one." Zhao walked to Aang's back, chuckling lightly. "Your spirit is strong. But even the strongest Earthbender can be cracked. Let's see if the same holds true for the Avatar." Aang felt sudden pain, and opened his mouth wide in a scream, but no sound came out. Again and again, Aang felt the sting of Zhao's fire whips on his back, and cried out with each one towards the end. Unlike previously, the sound of Aang's pain didn't cause Zhao to ease up any. Only when he could see no scrap of the boy's soft pink flesh left unscathed, did he stop.

Aang felt the warmth trickle down his back and legs and down to the floor. He was panting now, his teeth slowly becoming unclenched to allow more air flow. He didn't even notice the Admiral until his face was pressed nose to nose with Aang.

"_Now_ let's see how tough you are."

Like a venomous snake, Aang launched a wad of saliva into the Admiral's recoiling face and smirked to himself, letting his head fall down. Zhao didn't wipe it off. In his rage, the liquid evaporated off of his face and Zhao once again grabbed Aang's jaw. As the skin began to burn away from his bone, Aang let out a choked reply.

"If you think I will be broken by a little fire, you are sadly mistaken, Admiral. I have dealt with countless others before you and I have felt pain as you could never imagine. Do what pleases you, Zhao, nothing can break me."

Zhao smirked at the sudden realization: what his father had long ago done to him to make him obedient, he could now do to his prisoner. It had broken him. He was only 14 and was naïve to the world around him, having no idea that that pain truly existed.

"We'll see about that, young one." Aang smirked back, though on the inside he was terrified. He had wanted to be strong, but he wasn't sure how much more he could truly take. Zhao slowly made his way to Aang's back. The Avatar's eyes didn't bother following him; they simply chose a floor tile to focus on.

Once again with the fire whip, Aang's wounds ripped back open and the blood began to cascade down his thighs. It was meant as a distraction. The fire whips shot across his body, eliciting whimpers and moans- but never screams. Aang wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

The boy's tunic fell to the ground, shredded by the raging fire, and his body was left unprotected. Zhao seemed to enjoy the idea of the 12-year-old boy without any protection from his punishment and quickly destroyed the remainder of his charred clothing.

Aang felt embarrassed and vulnerable as the cold air hit his naked body. It wasn't the first time he had been completely bare in front of someone. At the Southern air temple, the air bender students would shower together every night before going to bed… but something about this encounter chilled him to his very soul. The red hot whips continued to rain down on his back and his mind was beginning to cloud over from the blood loss.

He didn't even hear the rustle of clothing, or if he had, he didn't pay it any mind. The pain stopped suddenly and Aang felt his knees collapse under him, his body too fragile to hold him up anymore. He shut his eyes tight against the pain and allowed himself to momentarily go limp, the rusted chains being the only thing that held him up.

Zhao cut the chains which enclosed his ankles and Aang felt the Admiral's calloused hands grip his bare hips tightly, bruising the tender skin, and lift him up so that Aang was almost parallel to the rock beneath him. This position put a sharp strain on the rotating cuffs in his shoulders and he let out a yelp. Zhao smiled and chuckled slightly, only loud enough for the Avatar to hear.

Letting his chin fall back to his chest, Aang watched the blood- _his _blood- fall over the sides of his body and drop to the ground. He watched his naked body tremble and shake under the torture and strain of holding the uncomfortable position. But that wasn't what made his eyes go wide.

Zhao had removed his clothing and his erection was pressing hard against Aang's stomach. As the wave of realization of what was to follow crashed over him, Aang began to cry, his shoulder's wracking with his sobs. Zhao listened close to the boy, expecting to hear the sounds of defeat- but there were none. Though terrified and sobbing, the young boy said nothing to stop the horror from commencing. He had promised himself that he would not break.

And an Avatar's promise is sacred.

**Sorry for the cliffhanger and implied shindigs but an author's gotta do what an author's gotta do.. **

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	3. 3: Failure

There was a small indent in the rock floor. Small, but prominent. In the darkness of his cell, Aang had not much to do but sleep, pray, and stare at the mark. It somehow made the Avatar pleased to know that even in the perfect fire nation world, there were still mistakes to be made.

He had long ago given up the hope of escaping from his prison. His friends weren't coming for him… hell, they were probably dead- consumed by their raging fevers which Aang had left them with. He shuddered at that last thought. Imagining Katara's cold, still, motionless body… that wasn't anything he ever wanted to think about.

In the windowless room, it was difficult to discern what time of the day it was- let alone which day it was. Aang had tried to keep track but who's to say one of his estimated days wasn't a measly hour in reality? Zhao had once informed him that it was a Friday. But which Friday? Was it a week after his imprisonment or a year?

Zhao.

The Avatar choked back a sob. He had always imagined the face of evil to be the fire lord's, but here, a measly servant of him, had begun to claim that title. The Admiral was merciless. The punishments became more frequent after the first week or so, to the point where Zhao was raping him twice a day- each time hoping to hear the sounds of defeat.

They never came.

Through the endless torture and self-loathing, Aang refused to break. He had given up hope for his own survival… but he would not betray the world. He constantly searched for a way out: some way to end his own suffering and be reborn into the water tribe, where he could once again give the world hope.

They had given up on him, he was sure of it. This was the second disappearance of the Avatar and there was no explanation to follow. The public knew that the end of the war had at least been within reach… but the Avatar had once again chickened out and run away. He had failed… in more ways than just one.

As Zhao constantly reminded him, he was the last air bender. His people were extinct and he was alone in the world. Of course, he could have a family… but it would only create another generation of air benders, if even that. Bending was extremely rare to pass on through genes as was evident in Katara and Sokka. And even if the genes were ready to pass from him to his children, being locked away in a cage to rot the rest of his life didn't grant many opportunities for reproduction. Without another air nomad in the world to follow Aang's passing, the Avatar cycle would be broken and the Avatar, too, would become extinct. He, alone, would be held responsible for both the Avatar's and the air bender's disappearance from the world.

Aang chided himself, _at least it cant get any worse._ He smirked. It always got worse.

**POOR BABY :( Hopefully this will tide you guys over for a bit. I think I will try to update this story at the beginning every week. Soooo... yeah. Next chapter's gonna be goooooooddd. I actually might post that one by Friday IF, and only IF, I get some reviewwwwwwssss. CLICK IT!**


	4. 4: The Prince and the Avatar

** WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS GRAPHIC AND CONTAINS M/M RAPE! DON'T READ IF YOU ARE TOO YOUNG OR WOULD BE OFFENDED!**

** Much l00ve,**

** xxTAxx**

Light flooded into the stone room. Involuntarily, Aang flinched. He had already received his punishment today, and his back continued to bleed from it.

When no sneering or chuckling met his ear, the Avatar decided to sneak a glance. He didn't want them to think that he cared anymore, because, well… he just didn't.

Two guards hurtled a small fire nation boy into Aang's cell. He quickly retaliated and blasted two fire balls at them, which they swiftly dodged and then moved to restrain his arms. The boy was forced to his knees and cried out as the hard stone bit at his flesh. Aang became curious. What purpose did Zhao have imprisoning one of his own? The guards each lit one of the torches in the room and Aang suddenly noticed a hint of red, scarred tissue…

Zuko.

The air bender's audible gasp seemed to have only been heard by the banished prince, whose head instantly jerked up at the sound. A wave of emotions swam over his face: shock, relief, happiness, disgust, and finally pity. Aang realized he must have looked terrible; Zhao never seemed to care how much dried blood covered the Avatar's body, and many of his wounds were still fresh from the day's session. He was exceedingly malnourished as he was only fed bits of rice and stale bread twice a day, and of course the molded bread had made him terribly sick giving definition to the purple bags beneath his eyes. Not to mention the fact that he was naked… His hair had grown out, too. It didn't cover up his arrow, as Zhao wanted him to display it proudly, but flowed down to the base of his neck. The Admiral refused to let him cut it, simply saying that he liked to "pull on it".

The boy gave a shudder and shut his eyes tight as Zhao's boasting voice filled the room.

"The Avatar and the banished fire prince: all under one roof." Then, a hand at his jaw, lifting his face up to meet Zhao's. The Avatar, refusing to meet his gaze, glared at the admiral's chest instead, wanting more than anything to reach inside and squeeze his black heart until it popped.

"What do you think, Avatar?" The voice sneered. "Pretty good considering its all within the span of four months." _So that's how long it's been,_ thought Aang,_ four whole months._ There was no verbal response from the Avatar. Zhao instantly began heating his hand and Aang let out a small yelp, before the Admiral thought better of it.

**ZUKO**

"Take the banished Prince in the hall for a moment; I have business to take care of." The guards bowed their heads respectfully and took the squirming teenager into the hall. Zuko's eyes were locked on Aang right up until the moment the door slammed shut. Even after it was closed though, he could still see the broken Avatar… the boy he had once hunted, now completely drained of life and youth. He knew they were supposed to be enemies, and the kid probably hated him after all he had done. But Zuko couldn't help but pity the Avatar's condition.

Here, the entire world thought he was dead, when in reality, they should be wishing he was. He would be much better off that way: being reborn without any recollection of what had happened here. Zuko shook his head.

All those bruises and scars… he'd never seen so many in his entire life. They nearly covered his body, crisscrossing his naked chest and arms- many still fresh.

Suddenly, there was a cry from behind the door. Zuko knew that sound all too well. It was the sound his own body produced after waking from one of his many nightmares, leaving him shaking and covered in cold sweat.

It was a cry of anguish; of utter defeat and submission. And Zuko knew all too well that it was the Avatar's. _He's done nothing wrong, _Zuko realized, and the realization hit him like a giant moose-lion.

_He's done nothing wrong._

It wasn't his fault that he was the Avatar. It wasn't his fault that he was sealed in a block of ice for 100 years only to be released into a war-torn world. It wasn't his fault. And he was being wrongly punished. Zuko felt a sob rip through his chest and a lone tear streaked down his face.

_ He's only a child…_

He didn't know how long he stared at the door, willing it to open, but he knew by the guards' massaging of their sore arms that it had been awhile. Finally, Zhao stepped out and walked forward, looking pleased with himself.

The door was left to swing open and from his own experiences, Zuko fully expected Aang to come crashing through and swallow them in a torrent of air. But Zuko could see the Avatar, and he didn't even seem to notice that his freedom was staring him in the face.

Aang stared angrily at a floor tile, looking worse if it was possible. It didn't seem as though he had enough strength to even lift his own head, and it hung limply against his chest.

"Sir, what is it that you want us to do with the banished Prince?"

Zhao looked over Zuko, smirking at the look of pure hatred he saw in the prince's eyes. He laughed and ordered him to be kept with the Avatar, against the protests of his men. Zhao refuted their arguments with a simple, "he couldn't even regain his pitiful honor. How could he possibly rescue the Avatar from a fire nation stronghold?" Then, a look of sheer joy came across Zhao's face.

"Why not make it a little more interesting, hm? Shall we show our esteemed prince what has become of "the world's last hope"?" The guards laughed nervously; they obviously felt uncomfortable about what he was talking about, but the Admiral skimmed over it. He was excited about something and whatever that something was caused a chill to run up Zuko's spine. He had never seen Zhao like this.

He was promptly dragged into the cell and held there by the two guards. The door slammed. Zuko shivered and looked at the boy in front of him, willing him to meet his eye. Aang knew they were all there, Zuko saw the knowledge flash in his eyes, but he still shuddered upon hearing the calloused voice of his keeper.

"What do you say, Avatar? Are you up for another round for our audience?"

A look of sheer terror etched itself into the face of the Avatar, but only Zuko saw because of where he knelt on the ground. Aang quickly wiped it away and his face became a blank slate: no emotion… He just… stared at the floor, willing for it to be over.

Zhao strode around to the boy's back, as he had done many times before that, and Aang acted like it was second nature. He let out a small sigh and looked… defeated. Zuko's heart almost stopped at the thought: the Avatar had given up hope. His eyes began to water and the young prince realized that, in being a co-prisoner with his old enemy, he had changed. Something inside of him finally decided to do what was right.

Zuko's thoughts were occupied with the restoration of the air bender's hope and he hardly minded what Zhao was doing. Unfortunately, one guard noticed his absentmindedness and forcibly turned the boy's head to look at Zhao.

Zuko got an eyeful. _When did Zhao take off his clothes?_ He had been so preoccupied that he hadn't even noticed that the Admiral had shed his clothing and idly tossed it to the floor. He moved to untie the air bender and the guards visibly tensed at this, but as his arms fell limply to his sides with a clang, it became apparent that Aang would do nothing to fight back. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, Zhao forced Aang to the ground and his chin hit the stone with a sickening _crack_. Zuko could see the bone literally break and shatter in his jaw line, but the Avatar never cried out.

Zhao welded the Avatar's wrist cuffs to the stone, so that his arms were held, straightened, at perpendicular angles to his body.

Zuko was unused to this… though Zhao was fully nude, he expected Aang to only receive another whipping. He cringed at the sight of Aang's back. He wasn't sure how much more he could take…

In one swift move, the Admiral gripped the boy's bruised hips and lifted them up so that his knees touched the floor and the Avatar gave a small whimper at the uncomfortable position which caused many cuts along his back to reopen. The blood spilled to the floor and Aang watched it, almost mesmerized by the flow of red which surrounded him.

"I haven't broken him yet," proclaimed Zhao and Zuko grit his teeth against the sound of his chuckle. "You see, I want him to _beg_ me. I want him to kneel before me and beg for me to stop his pain… but he still has his pride, and _that_ is what I'm hoping to destroy." Zuko's eyes went wide as Zhao knelt behind Aang and gripped his bottom.

_No._

In one swift move, the Admiral plunged into the boy's body and grunted at the feeling. Aang shut his eyes tight, but didn't make a sound. Again and again, Zhao plummeted into the Avatar, stripping him of his purity- that which air benders held most dear- and Zuko couldn't stop the scream from breaking through.

"_STOP IT! _You monster! He's only a child! HE'S ONLY A CHILD!" The tears fell freely down his face as Zuko sobbed for the boy in front of him. He was so strong… He didn't even make a sound, never cried, never showed how much it killed him to be taken by another man. Zuko knew that the Avatar was slowly losing himself with each thrust of the Admiral inside of him… His eyes were dimming; losing interest.

Zhao couldn't stand the quiet. He wanted the Avatar to scream from the pain, to scream his name and beg him to stop… but not even a whimper could be heard. Once again, he fisted a large chunk of the boy's hair and pulled his body up as far as his restraints would allow. Aang's spine made a sickening 'v' shape as his hips and shoulders rose in the air and his chest stayed plastered to the floor. His shoulders cracked and twisted at the odd angle and a small, heart wrenching sob broke from the boy's lips and his body trembled.

"Look him in the eye," Zhao ordered, and Aang knew exactly who he meant. Zuko watched through his tears as Aang grit his teeth and refused the Admiral's command.

"Make me, you sick fuck." All eyes in the room widened at the strong choice of words and at the sheer courage and strength that the Avatar possessed. But the courage didn't last. The next moment, Aang's eyes went wide and his body thrashed in Zhao's hold as he let out a blood-curdling scream. Zuko's heart ached and a new wave of tears flooded his eyes.

A trail of steam travelled down Zhao's body and met the area where the two were connected. Zuko could faintly see the flames which surrounded his member and closed his eyes at the sight.

Zhao was burning him.

That moment, his screams ceased and he crumpled to the floor, his chest heaving. Zhao pulled out of the boy and once again gripped his hair, pulling Aang's head so that they were face to face. Aang's entire body trembled and he was covered in a coat of sweat.

"You'd better watch yourself, boy. Don't forget that I've been going easy on you." Zhao smirked at the Avatar's look of genuine fear.

"Look at him." Zhao ordered and thrust the Avatar's face towards the new prisoner. "Look him in the eye." Aang looked at the floor and Zhao reached down between the boy's legs. The grey eyes went wider than ever before and Zhao repeated his command, knowing that the Avatar understood his threat.

Body quivering, the boy looked the Admiral in the eye and spit in his face. Zhao plunged into Aang's body once again and Aang let out another piercing wail, allowing his head to drop to the floor. His insides were charred and they began to crack and bleed everywhere with each thrust. Tears threatened to spill over, but Aang held them back… He wouldn't give Zhao the satisfaction. He would scream and even beg, but he would not allow the Admiral to see him cry.

Zhao once again pulled out and Aang whimpered. The Admiral's lower half was blood-soaked and Zuko gagged at the sight. He was truly a monster…

"Look at him. NOW!" Zhao's seething voice was hot with rage and Aang lost his inner battle, looking the banished prince in the eye. Zhao smiled and gripped the boy's hair as he thrust inside once more.

"Don't you dare break eye contact." The Admiral growled, as pleasure began to overtake him. The blood provided as an excellent lubricant and even after four months of violation, the boy was still as tight as day one. Aang's eyes fluttered back open and he stared Zuko down, his face expressionless, grey eyes never leaving Zuko's amber.

Zuko cried. He didn't care that Aang was watching him. This was wrong. Every so often, the Avatar's eyes would register the pain he was feeling, but he didn't make another sound.

Zhao's breathing became heavy as he watched the two staring at each other, knowing Zuko saw the Avatar's weakness and it became too much. With a grunt and one last powerful thrust, the Admiral released inside of the boy and Aang shut his eyes tight. For him, that was always the worst part.

Zhao dressed himself quickly and left the Avatar to lie in his pool of blood and semen before retying him to his posts. With the help of gravity, the mixture flowed down his legs and covered the floor below him.

Zhao and the guards left, leaving the flames in their torches. The Admiral wanted the broken Avatar to be completely visible to the Prince. Zuko remained unchained to anything, but his hands were rendered immobile by the cuffs. He stood to comfort the Avatar, but was stopped by a sob.

Aang's body began to shake and Zuko faintly saw the glimmer of tears against his cheeks. Now that Zhao was gone, Aang was free to cry alone like he had every night in his captivity.

Tonight, however, a certain prince cried with him.

**A/N: I know, I know: I'm a terrible person. But Aang's just so innocent and I feel as though he would be the best person to have this happen to…**

**Also: This WILL NOT be a Zukaang fic. I'm not a fan of them as a couple. They will be friends however and will end up being a little closer than Aang and Sokka are… NO ONE WILL EVER REPLACE KATARA! YAAAAAAAYYYY Kataang! *ahem* anyways…**

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**xxTAxx**


	5. 5: Forgiveness

**Thank you alllllll for your incredible reviews :)**

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**You guys ROCKK! Also, I'm not sure when the next update will be as I will be rather busy soon, however, know that this story will NEVER be abandoned. I am sticking by this one and seeing it through if it kills me! I already know where I want this to go and it will pick up- promise! )**

**Also check out my earlier stories if you guys are into Animorphs at all :) They are under xxtigergirlxx... 'Preciate it! On with the fanfic! (Mostly ZPOV) ENJOY!**

He felt like an idiot.

He just stared at him, not knowing what else he could possibly do. After all, how was anyone supposed to react to that? Zuko watched the Avatar through his tears and once again reminded himself that the boy was only twelve: not even a teenager, and yet, carried the weight of the world. After struggling with himself for sometime, the fire nation prince finally lost his inner battle and, shakily, rose to his feet.

Across the room, Aang fell silent. Zuko sucked in a heavy breath through his mouth and heard the Avatar do the same, but he didn't lose his nerve. Inches from the airbender, Zuko hesitated, unsure of how Aang would react... as he hadn't even acknowledged Zuko during their time alone together. Aang sucked in another mouthful of air, bracing himself for whatever was to come. He knew Zuko had seen him cry- had heard his weakness- but Aang hadn't really minded. The Prince hadn't laughed at him or ignored him entirely, rather, he had cried with him.

But now, being so close to the teen who had hunted and blackmailed him and his friends for the past few months, he couldn't stand the thought of Zuko seeing his weakness. He was Zhao, but at a younger age... a ruthless, selfish fire bender who never cared who they burned so long as they got their way... They were all the same.

_Kuzon._

He tried to stop it, but the lone tear for his deceased friend cascaded down his cheek and dropped to the stone floor. Not a moment later, two strong, warm arms were wrapped around Aang's neck, and he struggled before he realized that they weren't a threat. They squeezed the young airbender tightly, but not painfully so. Zuko's arms avoided Aang's wounded back and held his head tightly against the prince's shoulder.

Zuko was hugging him... as well as sobbing uncontrollably into Aang's tunic.

"I'm so... s-s-sorry...," The prince choked. Aang's brow furrowed and he struggled out of Zuko's grasp. As Zuko released the boy, Aang gave him a sour look before turning his head away.

"I don't need your pity." His response was cold, and unlike him. The prince was taken aback (and slightly furious at the rejection) and sank to the floor. He pushed his anger back. _I've changed. If I'm going to be good, that means I'll have to act good, too. _Besides, Zuko had only been here a day in comparison to the Avatar's months of solitude and pain. Zuko shut his eyes and breathed hard at the thought of Aang's insufferable pain.

"I wasn't apologizing for that." His voice was bitter. He tried to lighten his tone before continuing, but failed. Zuko's voice was just above a whisper the next time he spoke.

"I-I... was apologizing for...us. Everything I've put you through. Everything I've put your friends through. I was selfish and wasn't myself... I don't think..." He paused a moment, gauging the reaction on the Avatar's face. When there was none, he continued, "I think... I've changed, Avatar... I want... I _need _to help you- to redeem myself for the hell I've put you through- and join your team. I-I know that I don't deserve yo-"

"You are forgiven, Zuko."

The prince blinked several times as though he had been hit. His mouth flew open, then closed, as though he wanted to say something but couldn't find his voice.

"W-what?" He squeaked. The Avatar simply raised his head to look into Zuko's complexed eyes, and all was understood.

Zuko stood for a few moments more: the generosity and serenity almost baffling to the young fire bender. Of course, he was born after the homicide of the air people, and had, therefore, never known them or their teachings. But Aang was brought up on forgiveness and on the belief that all life and all people were sacred and deserved second chances.

_"We all lose our way sometimes, my young pupil." _Gyatso's voice rang clear in Aang's head. _"Like a baby platypus turtle after it has hatched, we all have somewhere we need to belong to... but, the journey is a rough one, and many of us stray from the path." He picked up the baby platypus turtle and set it down on the sandy shore._

_"Just remember, Aang, no matter how far the turtle strays from its path, it can always find its way to the destination." Aang watched the baby crawl around in circles, digging it's tiny beak into the small sand piles, before finally touching the ocean. The two watched with joy as the baby sank below the surf and floated away._

Aang felt another tear slip down his cheek at the memory of his teacher. Gyatso was the only person Aang knew who could find absolute beauty in a pile of garbage- it was just the way Gyatso saw the world... the way Aang strived to see it.

"Thank you," whispered the Prince, "and I promise you, Avatar, I will get you out of here. The world needs you, and you can't take anymore of this- at least you shouldn't have to. And when we get out, I swear to you that Zhao will suffer horribly for all that he's done here. I can personally see to that." By the end of his little speech, Zuko's soft voice had turned seething with rage and hatred. **(A/N- For you: avatarfan! There will be more!)**

"No."

"No?" Zuko's mouth dropped open and he stared at the airbender in disbelief.

"No." Aang repeated. "I won't allow you to risk your life and safety for the small possibility of my escape. You've seen the guards... they increase in numbers everyday I'm in here: Zhao won't take any chances. I'm too weak to bend, let alone stand, and you couldn't carry me all the way out of here while fighting them off... It's too dangerous and we'd both be killed. You need to focus on getting yourself out right now. You have a chance at escaping... If I can distract Zhao so that he isn't around to alert the crew, you might be able to sneak out of here without a fight breaking out and get back home where you belong."

Zuko couldn't believe his ears. Here, the Avatar was offered a chance to escape, and he simply turned it down, as if he weren't important enough for Zuko to go through the trouble. He had a good mind to yell, to scream, to blast fire at him in a childish tantrum... but Zuko knew he was right. He had made too many valid points not to be right. His hands shook as he controlled his raging temper.

"Then I promise you something else..." Zuko stood and stepped closer to the airbender in a newfound bout of strength and determination. "When I get out of this place, I'll find your water tribe friends (wherever they may be) and I won't stop until they know that you're alive and fighting. I'll tell them where you are, and we'll break you out together."

Aang offered a weak smile at the young prince. His positivity was absolutely contagious and, though Aang wanted anything but for his friends to come to this wretched place and find him as he was, he knew that Zuko wouldn't be deterred and nodded his head in reluctant agreement. To see Katara's face again...

He might actually make it out of here alive...

**More Kataang to come! **

**What do you guys think? Will Zuko escape? If so, will he even find Katara and Sokka with the world believing the Avatar to be dead? Will Aang ever get out? And will my room stay clean this week to appease my raging mother?... Probs not.**

**Oh well! REVIEEEEEWWW! SHOW ME SOME LOVE AND YOU WILL BE HANDSOMELY REWARDED!**


	6. 6: Escape

**A/N: Hey guys :)) sorry for the long break but the boss has been working the crap out of poor little me :/ not to mention my birthday's coming up... HOORAY FOR ADULTHOOD! Anyhoo... I don't plan on EVER giving up this story. EVER. **

**A lot is going to happen in the next two chapters but (unfortunately) the gruesomeness is done. Mostly now its just going to be about the whole psychological aspect of Aang's torture and how what he's been through has changed him. LOTS of Kataang and Zukaang (friendship-wise for the latter) coming up!**

**STAY TUNED!**

**Disclaimer: Man! I wish I owned this awesome series! :D Oh well...**

Aang looked miserable. In the past month when Zuko had been his companion, Zhao had refused to feed the Avatar much at all... if it was even possible for him to be fed any less. His frail ribs protruded from his torso and they were a sickening purple due to his frequent beatings. When Zuko first met the imprisoned Avatar, his skin was a darkened shade of maroon from the dried blood. Now, his skin resembled a candied moon peach: a bright, bright red in color which glimmered in the torchlight as the wounds on his body were never given time to heal properly and would frequently break open. With Aang's frail appearance and lack of nourishment, his body had begun to reject any form of help in its injured state, and therefore his wounds took days to form clots and stop bleeding.

It was... horrific. It was inhumane.

Zhao continued to request Zuko's presence whenever he raped the poor child- which was everyday, twice a day. Aang had stopped crying out weeks ago. Now he stared at the floor in agony and begged the spirits to just take him from the world. It was utterly heartbreaking to see him cry. The prince could never stop the tears from streaming down his face. He was so... helpless.

But that was about to change.

Today was the day.

They had worked together on an escape plan so masterful that even Aang was sure Zuko wouldn't be stopped in his race to freedom. Aang would stay, of course, to _distract _Zhao- something which Zuko couldn't bear to think about. Raping Aang had taken less and less of the Admiral's time these days. Without Aang fighting him or screaming in pain, Zhao tended to lose interest and arousal rather quickly. In order to distract the Admiral long enough for Zuko to complete his task, the airbender would need to do something terrible to provoke Zhao into giving him a _thorough _punishment.

Zuko looked at the boy in front of him, heaving with each shaky breath he took. He faintly heard the sound of three distinct pairs of feet make their ways down the hallway.

"Aang," he addressed the boy, whose head fluttered up to look at his cellmate. Zuko gave him a faint smile, which he graciously returned, and Zuko chuckled sadly. When had he begun addressing him by his name? To Zuko, he had always been "Avatar", but now... He actually had a friend: one who didn't use him like all the others had. Aang's childhood teachings had shone through in the past month and he talked to Zuko as if they had never been enemies. Like they were... brothers.

"_You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is?" Zuko had looked up at Aang, surprised at his talking so soon after his punishment. The Avatar had shakily, but patiently, continued, "I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had– and he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?"_

_Of course, we could, Aang, _Zuko smiled sadly at the memory. _After all, we're friend now, aren't we?_

He brushed a tear from his face with hi_s _sleeve and realized his friend was waiting, patiently, for him to continue.

The footsteps drew closer.

"Thank you... for everything." The Avatar smiled genuinely at the changed prince. "I won't let you down, Aang, I promise. I'll find your friends and we'll break you out of here... together." Never in his life had he imagined saying those words... let alone to the Avatar himself. His uncle would be proud.

The door clicked open and in strode two guards and the devil himself: Admiral Zhao.

"And how are my two little prisoners today?" Zuko didn't respond. When the door had opened, he had flung himself onto the floor in a hopeless fetal position, hoping to the spirits that he looked convincing. This was Aang's part... if Zuko did anything to arouse suspicion- it would all be over. He could almost hear Zhao frown from across the room.

"It's much to quiet in here..." He continued, striding over to the Avatar. "I thought I was going to have to punish you for your disobedience, but now that I see you're being complient... perhaps I should reward you, instead." Zuko lifted his head just slightly to look at the pair... in time to see the Admiral's fist wrapped around Aang's member. The boy jumped a mile and gasped loudly at the sensation. He began to twist and squirm, trying hard to wriggle away from Zhao's hand, which had begun to pump him furiously.

Aang whimpered and saw red. He had never been so utterly violated, so humiliated in his life. This went against every principle the monks had taught him and every fiber in his being rejected the sensations... the wonderful, wonderfully powerful sensations... Each stroke of the Admiral's hand sent a shock wave coursing through his body and his head flung back, eyes and mouth wide in a soundless scream. His body trembled and suddenly, the young Avatar felt empowered as he had never felt before. His body visibly relaxed and he began radiating with the newfound strength.

With an enraged cry, the air around him billowed up and blew Zhao from him, throwing the Admiral into the stone wall. Then, Aang fell limp again, and he knew that his bending was once again gone.

Aang's body quivered and trembled, rattling his chains, as he sobbed quietly. Zhao rose to his knees and shrugged away the guards who had been helping him get to his feet. He slowly stood and grimaced from the pain in his broken arm.

"Take the banished prince outside while I teach this little _shit _a lesson."

This was it. As Zuko was dragged from the room, he watched Aang tremble defeatedly. I_'m coming back for you, buddy. Just hang in there._

The screams began as soon as the door clicked shut, but the prince didn't stay to listen to his friend's agony. He propelled himself upward using fire jets from his feet and the guards' holds were ripped from him. He landed and assumed a defensive stance, waiting for them to stop his escape.

The guard's looked at one another, then one stepped forward and bowed his head towards Zuko, who narrowed his eyes in confusion and distrust. They both raised their hands to signal that they meant no harm and weren't in any rush to attack him.

"We're so terribly sorry for all the Admiral has done to you and your friend... and we hope you don't see it as a reflection of the entire crew. We can't help you much, but we'd like to assist you in at least escaping this tower. Most of the guards are actually on your side, but need to do their jobs so that they can feed their families... But they don't even know what happens up here, as we do." Zuko looked to the other guard for reassurance.

He spoke up, "We will do everything in our power to delay Zhao..." Zuko nodded once and bowed to the two. As he thanked them and walked away, the second guard called to him.

"Take my helmet. Your uniform doesn't necessarily match ours but if you are quick, no one will be able to notice. If anyone asks, tell them you need to deliver a message to the warden; Warden Daoe... that name should give you some credibility."

"Thank you." And with that Zuko took off running, throwing on the borrowed helmet, and began sprinting down the tower stairway. No one suspected... at least no one stopped him. They probably assumed it was urgent... If he hurried maybe he could make it across the courtyard withou-

"Hey! Stop right there!" The authoritative voice stopped him dead in his tracks. He was outside the tower now, but this was the hardest challenge. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice as he spun to face the man.

The warden, flanked by three guards, approached a terrified Zuko. He attempted to stand straighter, to help his case, but found that his muscles refused to coopperate. He was scared stiff... literally. The warden stopped with his face directly level with Zuko's and the latter could hardly control his trembling lower lip. He couldn't fail. Not now, when the taste of freedom clung so tightly to the air around him.

"Yes, warden Daoe?" He stammered, voice cracking slightly. The man scrutinized the imposter guard with beady rodent eyes, and handed Zuko a small slip of paper.

"Take this to our sister tower, over on the East coast, and have it delivered to the warden there. No one's eyes are to see this save the recipient, understood?"

"O-of course, sir. I-I'll leave immediately..." Zuko stammered and lifted a trembling hand to receive the note. The warden nodded and Zuko bowed respectfully to him, watching him walk away out of the corner of his eye. Once the four men were out of sight, the prince could finally breathe again. _That was way too close._

He then continued, letter in hand, to exit the Fire Nation fortress and breathe his first breath of freedom in weeks. He couldn't contain the smile on his face. _I did it, Aang._

He looked at the note in his hand, knowing full well it had to contain important information and carefully unfolded the paper to reveal a series of random numbers and lines. Shrugging, he crumpled it up and threw it (along with his stolen helmet) to the forest floor and trudged on. Hours passed and the sky grew light with the dawning sun. He felt the sun's energy fill him with strength, never realized how much he would miss it's warmth and power. Birds chirped in their trees, fish jumped to catch morsels of their breakfast, and the world was at peace around him. Life moved on.

In his mind's eye he saw the faces of villagers whom he had passed by before his capture. The world thought the Avatar to be dead, and they had quaked with fear at seeing the Fire Prince approach. _Life doesn't all move on, _Zuko mused. Nature continued to sing its song while Aang was suffering, but the people stopped living. They depended on him; he was their rock. He was so lost in his thoughts he barely heard two people rushing towards him.

Zuko was suddenly knocked to the ground and groaned in pain as his vision split into a million tiny stars. Catching his breath, he slowly lifted himself to his elbows and looked at his attacker. The woman standing before him was strikingly familiar. She wore a dark blue kimono and had her hair pulled back in a braid with two small sections looping around her face, which was contorted into a very, _very_ angry expression. Katara wasn't happy to see the banished prince who had chased them for so long.

But Zuko had never been happier to see her.

**A/N: (Part two) Also, I just really want to thank allll my reviewers :) I can't tell you how much my face lights up when I read all your kind words. It truely means a lot to me! **

**Love you all!**

**xxTAxx**


	7. 7: Broken Traditions

**A/N: Thanks for being awesome guys! Love you all!**

**Also, did you see Korra finale? BADASS!**

**Disclaimer: can I has rights to Avatar? *hands me copy of James Cameron movie* NOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

What are you doing here, _Zuko._" the Water Tribe girl sneered his name as if he were a deadly snake, poised to attack. The waterwhip had the prince back to the ground in a matter of seconds each time he attempted to rise up. Katara growled threateningly and Zuko thought it best to remain seated. "The Avatar is gone, or haven't you heard? You have no purpose in hunting my brother or myself any longer. This is your only warning, Prince Zuko. Do not take it lightly."

The water flowed from her fingertips and he marveled at the control she had over such an unpredictable source. Ignoring her threat, he sighed heavily and got to his knees, preparing to beg if she saw the need for it.

"Katara," the young girl jolted at the sound of her name, "I don't want to hurt you. I'm here to help. Please." She eyed him wearily, half tempted to throw him back to the dirt.

She chuckled darkly. "What would give you the impression that I would ever believe a word that came from your mouth? You've done nothing but make our lives hell. Aang loses his people, everyone who he ever loved, and wakes up to a bad-tempered teenager trying to kill him! Not to mention you stole my mother's necklace and threatened my village! You're a monster, Zuko, and every word you say is a lie." Tears flowed down her cheeks mid-rant, showing the emotion that lie behind her empowered words. Zuko took a shaky breath and winced. _She's right... I am a monster. But I'm going to fix that._

_"So," Zuko had begun, "what's with you and that waterbender?" He was, naturally, curious about their relationship. That, and he was attempting to distract Aang from the recently experienced horror that had been Zhao._

_"K-Katara?" A deep blush spread quickly across his cheeks. "She's just a friend! A best friend! And... I, well..." He sighed deeply, knowing that neither his current companion nor anyone else would have bought his lie. "I love her."_

Zuko smiled as he emerged from the memory. She was very beautiful and anyone could see she cared about him as well, but perhaps not as deeply as Aang.

_Ripped skin lined his wrists and the metal cuffs were stained red from the wounds. Aang panted heavily, his vision blurring with tears and the blood which ran down from a gash on his forehead. The fire whips cascaded down his back and he bit his lip to keep the screams inside. He tasted blood and realized he had bit through his own lip. A sudden kick to his ribs sent him sprawling across the ground... or it would have, had the sharp metal around his wrists not brutally ripped him back. The sound of breaking bones echoed through the chamber and Zuko choked back another so-_

Zuko shook his head to clear the memory away and shuddered. _I'm not the monster; Zhao is._

Katara waited, arms posed in attack, for the banished prince to speak. What came from his lips caused her to drop the bended water she had been holding and fall back to the ground.

"Aang is alive."

Katara blinked from her new position on the ground, then hopped to her feet and released a torrent of water onto his body.

"How_ dare _you. How dare you show up, unwanted, just to rip my heart open further! You insensitive _jerk!_ What gives you the right to believe that you are allowed to destroy people's families and homes? You're nobody, _Prince _Zuko. You're just a no-"

"ENOUGH!" Zuko leapt up and pinned the surprised waterbender to a nearby tree, grabbing her wrists and leaning in close to her face. Her eyes grew wide with fear and her lower lip trembled. "The Avatar is alive. He was captured and shoved in a fire nation prison almost five months ago! No one came to rescue him, instead, the world and his _best friends_ left him for dead! They abandoned him when he needed them most- and I am not just saying that! Zhao tortures him everyday of his life to the point where it's difficult for Aang to even breathe at the end of the day! You think I've made your life hell? Think again!" With that he released her arms, allowing her to fall to her knees, and stalked off. Then, thinking better of it, stopped in his tracks and addressed her once more.

"I'm going back to save him. It's your choice whether or not you wish to join me, but I promised him that I would find you, and I have. Aang needs us. It's time we put the past behind us and move on with our lives." Katara listened from the ground, tears staining her cheeks, and thought about the Prince's words. **(1) **

Zuko heard the rustling of Katara climbing to her feet, and prepared himself for another attack. When nothing happened, he turned to face the waterbender, who looked hesitant and afraid. An era of silence befell the two benders and Zuko waited patiently for her to speak, knowing well she would have some choice words about his unkind speech. Then, the four words that changed everything:

"We're coming with you."

They ran through the narrow halls, trying desperately to make every second count.

"There it is! Hold them off while I break him out." With that, Zuko ran forward, leaving his tired companions behind.

Katara's kimono was badly singed, and the hair that had once been neatly tucked back into a braid now flew wildly around her face. She and her brother still fought bravely, though their tired bodies screamed for them to stop. Sokka's entire left arm was covered in a blistering burn, which Katara said would be easily healed. Zuko was grateful for her. He would have never gotten passed the outer wall without her and her brother's help. Because she trusted him, Aang would be saved.

"Go!" Katara shouted at the dazed Prince. "And hurry! We'll hold them for as long as we possibly can!" With her last words, she bended another water whip at the oncoming guards, shoving them back to the end of the hallway.

The door shut behind him, and all was silent in the familiar cell. Aang hung limply from his chains, appearing almost lifeless. Zuko noticed several new wounds and teared up at the realization that they had been a part of his final punishment. Despite the fact that he was short on time, Zuko trudged over to his motionless friend slowly, as if tiptoeing around a sleeping beast. He cupped the Avatar's face when he found he was near enough and was met with Aang's gray irises peering back at him.

At first, the airbender stiffened, seeing the molten irises. But after the detection of kindness and concern within the gaze, he breathed a sigh of relief which sounded an awful lot like Zuko's name and relaxed into the prince's arms. He held Aang tight.

"We're busting you out of here."

Aang was released from the prince's hold and the firebender began melting away the chains and the Avatar limply began to fall to the floor. Zuko caught him and wrapped his cloak around his friend's shivering body, noting briefly the choppy, raised look of some of his tattoos. Slinging him onto his back, he heard his name once more from the boy's broken lips.

"Don... tell... 'tara." And he was gone, lost to the world of unconsciousness. Zuko tightened his grip on the Avatar and bit back his tears, knowing fully well what his friend had meant. He blasted the door open with fire and called loudly to the watertribe siblings.

"Let's get out of here!" The trio ran quickly down the hall from which they came and Katara warded off the guards with her constant streams of water, never removing her eyes from the tattooed boy on Zuko's back. Tears freely streamed down her face as they made it to the courtyard. For awhile, it seemed as though they wouldn't make it out alive. Guards surrounded them on all sides and the Yu Yan archers were posed to strike at a moments notice. Zuko once again tightened his grip on the Avatar and got an idea.

"Sokka! Quick! Press your boomerang to Aang's throat!"

"You want me to WHAT?" Came the brother's disbelief.

"Just TRUST ME! Do it NOW!" Sokka shrugged and did as Zuko asked, seeming as he had been right so far. The banished prince turned his gaze up to look at the devil himself. _Your move, Zhao._

Zuko briefly saw a vein pop out of the Admiral's skull as he seethed, "Let them out." The gates opened behind them and the three wasted no time in rushing Aang out of his prison. Once at the treeline, they clambered onto Appa's back and he took off with a slam of his tail. Zuko laid Aang down onto the saddle and quickly covered his naked body with the fire nation cloak, wrapping it more tightly around his fragile body. Only then did he really see the boy's arms.

The once-blue arrows which covered his arms were now a sickening purple color and the tattoo had lost its streamline quality, the edges turning jarred and sharp in places. On his left arm, a large bandage completely covered his forearm and, upon removing it, Zuko leaned over the saddle a released his dinner into the night sky.

The tattoo was near removed. The top of his forearm looked as though someone had taken a spoon- _or a knife_- and tried to _carve_ out the entire tattoo but had only succeeded in certain areas. The skin was still a faint blue in some areas, and the arrowhead was still clearly visible on his wrist, but for the most part, it was gone. An ancient and sacred tradition of the air monks, now defiled and destroyed on the boy's arm. Zuko realized how painful it must have been for Aang to go through that... being that he was the last of his kind.

Katara quickly wrapped her arms around her airbender and Zuko left the two alone, knowing Katara would need time with him. Moments later, the only sounds in the night air was Katara's quiet sobbing. A sound which cleaved everyone's heart in two.

**Review!**

**(1)- I imagine this pose as the one that Zuko has in the Agni Kai agains Ozai in the episode "the storm".**


	8. 8: Safe in My Arms

**Speedy update, I know :)) next update will only happen (and I mean it this time!) if I get a good amount of review-age! I can't wait tocomplete this story :D feel free to PM me anytime o' day! LOVE YOU GUYS! And thank you so much to my amazing reviewers :)**

**ExcitedReader: oh gracious *blushies* you're way too kind... Please tell me more! :D**

**Malevolent Dark Reflection: He's a-coming... Don't you fret dear one ;)**

**XLadyRainbowX: I... Might just love you..**

**Stungun Milly: so glad you're enjoying it! More to come :)**

**RandomPow3r: awe shucks, yoooouuu *at this point, the amount of blood rushing to my face should be seen as a medical anomaly***

**Amy Whitespot: thanks so much! And I take pride in my twistedness 0.o**

**On with the fanfic of Avatar!**

Katara bent the water out of the water skin and into the young Avatar's opened mouth, a few drops falling onto his cracked lips and soaking into the sensitive skin. She quickly shepherded the flow of water down his throat and into his shrunken stomach. Katara's hair whipped around her face as she once again brought the airbender- _her _airbender- close to her chest, stroking his smooth skin with her fingertips, being careful to avoid his jawline.

Just looking at the burns which covered his body made the waterbender shiver in horror. _How could anyone be so cruel? So heartless?_ His arms jerked wildly when Appa hit some turbulence and his tattoos ripped open along the severed lines, spilling blood onto the saddle and covering Katara's kimono as she frantically tried to usher the healing water onto the wound. Tears streamed from her face as she wondered how in the Spirits one person could do this alone. To heal his broken body seemed as though it would take a lifetime and a half.

Aang groaned as his arms continued to rip open, the once-smooth arrows staining red with the cascading liquid.

"Shh," Katara soothed, "I'll make the pain go away, Aang. I promise." The water glowed bright with her healing touch and the cut instantly sealed itself, forming a thick, ugly scab in its place. Katara sighed. They had been in the air for a little more than an hour now and Aang, though undergoing various healing sessions, ceased to appear in any better condition than that which they had found him in.

The Avatar suddenly released into a fit of jerks and rapid motions, trying to escape the pain, a cry escaping from his lips and Katara's heart split in two at the pitiful whimper. She pulled him close once more and began to steadily rock him, offering comforting whispers to dry his eyes.

The two boys heard the waterbender's harsh sobs which wracked through her body as she cradled the small, broken child in her loving arms. Their cheeks, too, were stained with tears as they looked anew onto the airbender's wounds. Sokka allowed his eyes to fall to the patented leather saddle beneath him, choosing to stare at something much less horrific and felt new tears form as his eyes refused to let him forget Aang's shredded appearance.

Katara was singing. Her brother jerked his head up suddenly to look at her, bewildered at her choice in song. It was a lullaby; the very one Kya used to sing to her children before laying them to bed.** (A/N: this is the song "Baby, Close Your Eyes" by Celine Dion. YouTube it :) It's absolutely perfect for this scene!)**

"_Sun is creeping down _

_ Behind the hill _

_ Everything is calm _

_ Everything is still _

_ So baby close your eyes _

_ And rest your weary mind _

_ Let me hold you close _

_ I'll sing you this lullaby _

_ Let your worries go _

_ You fall asleep _

_ Think of nothing more _

_ Memories will keep _

_ Your dreams will turn to gold _

_ And you will wake and find _

_ That you hold a smile all day _

_ From this lullaby _

_ Maybe somewhere in the silence _

_ You may wake and you're all alone _

_ Just call and I'll be there _

_ Even when I'm gone _

_ Each day will end _

_ So I'll say good night _

_ Till we meet again _

_ Now baby close your eyes _

_ And rest your weary mind _

_ I'll let you know the joy you bring _

_ Every time you hear me sing _

_ You this lullaby."_

The song, though strangled through Katara's fragmented sobs, sounded clearly in the night air and Zuko looked on with saddened eyes. He knew that Aang was safe now, in the company of his friends.

But, as far as he was concerned, nothing had changed.

Though Zhao was no longer here to hurt him, the memory of all their encounters was sure to haunt Aang forever. Zuko wanted to tell the siblings; to open his mouth and shout it to the world so that maybe, somehow, Aang could heal. But he had promised, and Aang was his friend- he would never betray his trust. He wondered if the waterbender- _Katara_, he reminded himself- would eventually sense it as he watched her hands hover listlessly over his battered form. _Could she sense the areas which were in most need of attention? Would she be able to tell that the Avatar's wounds weren't all external?_

He sure hoped so… for Aang's sake.

He couldn't even imagine going through that ordeal, let alone having to tell the one you loved about it afterward. He shut his eyes tight but tore them back open at the sound of his name.

At first, he thought he had imagined it, as no one met his inquiring gaze. But then Katara lifted her head and beckoned him to sit near her. Zuko hesitated, but did so anyway, knowing full well what the girl wanted.

"Zuko… in order to properly heal Aang… I need you to tell me what happened." He sighed and looked at the monk in her arms, fast asleep (as he would've liked to believe). His face was serene despite the hardships he had recently encountered, and Zuko's heart warmed at the young boy's unbelievable strength. He returned his gaze to Katara and spoke:

"I can't tell you everything that happened in that prison… Nor can I inform you of what Aang had to suffer through-" he quickly held up a hand to silence her as she opened her mouth to speak. "It is not my place, nor my right to do so. Aang must tell you when _he's _ready."

He then rose to his feet and retreated back to his corner of the bison's saddle and lifted his gaze to meet her wide cerulean orbs- filled with tears and concern.

"Aang is the strongest person I know, Katara. And that's saying a lot. He went through a great deal in his five months at that prison, of which he has asked me not to speak. But never _once _did he show Zhao weakness. He never allowed himself to break or even crack for that matter…" Zuko turned towards the night sky, afraid to meet her eyes at the final news.

"If he wakes up- _when_ he wakes up- he won't be the Avatar you once knew. He's broken Katara, and so much has happened to him that I'm not sure it will be fixable… He was strong… But no soul can endure that kind of pain." He closed his eyes tight against Katara's strangled sobs which erupted behind him.

"Y-you're wrong, Zuko." She cried. "You don't… _know_… Aang the way… the way that _we_ do. He's strong… stronger than _anything _or_.. Anyone! _He _will… _make it through this…" Her sobs broke through at times, too forceful for her to contain, and her body crumpled to the floor with their tremors. Katara gasped for air, trying to force it into her lungs as she dry heaved in pain, still clutching desperately onto Aang's limp hand.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her shaking frame and she cried onto Zuko's shirt. He gripped the back of her head tightly and shushed away all of her tears.

"I'm sorry… It seems I, once again, underestimated him… I'm so sorry, Katara. You're right: he _will_ get through this. I know he will." Her sobs slowly quieted and a smile graced her lips at Zuko's newfound hope.

Somewhere over the Earth Kingdom, the Avatar's fingers began to twitch and his grip softly tightened around the hand of a young waterbender.


	9. 9: You Weren't There

**Hello there :) I know I haven't updated in awhile, but I'm back now! YAAAAAYYYY! **

**I will remind everyone again (because of that flame) that this is A GRAPHIC STORY AND I AM NOT FORCING YOU TO READ IT. IT HAS AN ADULT RATING AND THERE IS A BIG, FAT WARNING IN THE DESCRIPTION!**

**Also, I thought it was hilarious that they say I'm such a terrible person... Sorry to disappoint? ^-^ Also, a majority of this _did _happen to me as a child soooooo... I'm not really that twisted. I write from ****_experience _people! I don't just come up with this stuff!**

**In response to my first guest review: Heard of Kony? Also, there was WWII where they did do this to children and people allowed it to happen because they were "following orders". That's what I'm trying to hint at here. The guards didn't like it, but they have families to think about and they don't want any of Zhao's (or Ozai's) wrath to descend upon them for disobeying orders. I know I could have probably focused on that more... but I really wanted to just focus on Aang...**

**On with the story! (Please no more flames)**

**Also: My rights to Avatar: the Last Airbender were stolen last night so I no longer have them. Sorry people!**

He woke with a start. His breath came out in shallow bursts upon realizing he was no longer in the prison fortress. Hell, he didn't even think he was on Earth anymore. The pain which, moments ago, had plagued his body had mysteriously vanished and he was surrounded by a world of muted color.

Aang climbed to his feet and struggled to maintain his balance. Physically, in the spirit world, he was fine, but after months of not having any weight put on his legs, his mind seemed to have forgotten the feeling of having them used.

"We meet again, young Aang."

He spun to meet the voice, and abruptly lost his footing and fell to the ground. He gazed up at the figure before him, eyes suddenly overflowing with the tears of all his forgotten emotion. Anger, betrayal, hurt, and sadness overcame him and he struggled with how he was expected to act during this encounter.

"Roku."

%%%%%%%

Zuko laid Aang down on the blanket. Sokka kept watch outside and Katara stood beside him, looking on at the prince and her friend from a distance. They had arrived at camp a few hours back, and had snuck Aang in past everyone.

_"We're almost to camp. I can see it in the distance." Sokka informed them from his position atop Appa's head. "We should arrive in a few minutes."_

_ Katara shifted uncomfortably and stole a glance at the airbender. Tucking a lock of hair lovingly behind his ear, she glanced up at Zuko, then at her brother's back._

_ "Aang wouldn't want them to see him like this. Could you and Zuko sneak him in while I distract them?" Sokka curtly nodded his head and focused his attention back on steering the bison. Zuko could now see the camp coming into view. From the air, he counted maybe ten or twelve tents set up on the ground along with twenty or so rock formations scattered around the site._

_ "Them? I thought it was just the three of you?" Momo squabbled in objection and grabbed at Zuko's nose from his position on his shoulder._

_ "Ow! Sorry! The _five _of you." Zuko turned to the little lemur, who purred contently in response. "Better?" _

_ "It _was _just the five of us. Then Aang disappeared. Sokka and I overcame our sicknesses and immediately went out looking for him, but to no avail. I decided that we should continue on to the North Pole, so that I could master water bending and teach Aang when he returned. Along the way, we met a couple of resistance groups who we befriended and, after staying in our sister tribe for a while, asked them to join us in our fight. We've kind of been forming a small army to take down your father." She blushed profusely as she mumbled the last bit._

_ "Our dad and the other warriors from our tribe should be arriving in a few days' time and then the fun can really start!" Sokka beamed._

_ "Glad I'm not the only one with daddy issues.." Zuko chuckled._

He chuckled lightly to himself, but glanced down quickly as Aang moved slightly in his 'sleep'. He sighed when the airbender's eyes refused to open. After they had landed, the boy's tattoos had begun to glow and Katara announced to the men that Aang was probably going to speak with Roku in the Spirit World. She choked back a groan when she saw that his left hand refused to glow as the rest of his body did.

He looked over at Katara, then back down at his friend. _Please wake up soon, Aang._

_%%%%%%%_

"Where were you?" His voice was barely a whisper. He stared blankly at the ground, refusing to meet his past life's- his mentor's- eye.

"Aang-"

"WHERE WERE YOU?" The tears spilled over his cheeks and his body and voice shook with his sobs. Not _once _had Roku been there for him; not _once _had he tried to stop Zhao when Aang was too weak to do so himself. "I… needed… you… And you… weren't there."

"Aang… to be honest, I didn't know what I could do. I called upon our past lives, but no one had ever experienced this before. We were shocked and horrified, and couldn't bring ourselves to do anything to stop it." Roku approached Aang and slowly knelt down to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I am so sorry, Aang. We failed you." He wrapped the small boy in his arms. "What we failed to do is unforgivable." Aang abruptly stood, tearing away from his past life's embrace and faced away from him, staring at the empty spirit sky.

"I've lost out on a lot of time. I still have three elements to master, and I only have four months until the comet comes." He whirled to face the old fire master. "In the next few months, I'm going to lean on you for your support and guidance- _all _of you… Promise me you'll be there when I need you."

"We promise, Aang."

His head was pounding and his vision was blurred with the bright light. All the pain suddenly struck his body as he was released from the Spirit World and awakened in the mortal. He groaned aloud at the searing pain in his back and forearm and was immediately wrapped in a bone crushing hug.

"Aang!" Katara held him tight against her, too afraid to ever let him go. He breathed in her scent for the first time in months and instantly felt at home. Katara always managed to make him feel better, even in the worst of situations. She tenderly gripped the back of his neck…

He was suddenly being crushed to the floor, the calloused hand gripping the nape of his neck and blistering the skin below it. His body screamed in agony and he whimpered in discomfort as Zhao plunged into him again and again and again…

"Aang!"

"Aang!"

"Snap out of it, Aang!"

He instantly recoiled from her touch and regretted his sudden movements as the wounds on his back suddenly reopened and spilled to the floor. He slipped on the liquid and fell to the ground, shutting his eyes tight and gritting his teeth against the pain as he felt the tears leak from his eyes.

Slowly, he reopened them in time to see a dark figure approaching him. His vision was so blurred, he could only assume he knew who it was after months of being alone with only him, and he balked at the advancing hand. When nothing happened, he took in his surroundings and saw Katara biting back tears at his reaction towards her. He instantly felt a pang of guilt.

Katara would never hurt him. He knew that.

"I-I'm sorry, Katara." He mumbled, choosing again to stare at the floor. Her hand reached for his and gripped it lightly. A touch so small, yet so comforting.

"It's alright, Aang. I understand." He looked up at her concerned face and offered a small smile which didn't reach his eyes.

_You don't understand. You have no idea._

**Like? Didn't like? If there's anything you want to see, feel free to PM me! (Don't put it in your review- I don't want to spoil it for the others!) Please be gentle... no flames.**

**Review!**


	10. 10: The Return of Zhao

**Hey guys :) Just a quick note in response to that guest comment about the whole plagiaris****m thanngg... I know. I originally posted part of this story under my other account**** _many_ years back. When I found out someone had copied the work, I deleted the story and refused to continue it. I'm over it now. People will be people and it's just the way the world is.**

**If you guys want to use my stuff for your own stories... please just ask. I'd probably be fine with it. (I don't mind sharing.)**

**Also, please don't "chew" the other person out. I've come to terms with it. Everything's dandy :)**

*****THIS STORY IS RATED 'MATURE'. REMEMBER THAT!*****

**Disclaimer: The characters of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Zhao, Appa, Toph, Teo, the Blue Spirit, Ozai, Azula, Tai-lee, Mai, and Iroh don't belong to me. Momo, however, does :) just kidding.**

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

"How are you feeling?" Katara asked as she worked her water bending on the air bender's back, pushing and pulling in attempts to relieve some of the tension. Aang chuckled darkly from his position on the blanket.

"Better than I've felt in a long time." He felt Katara's hands momentarily falter as she drew in a shaky breath, before she continued working. The two of them were silent for a long time. Only the sloshing of water was heard as it trickled over the scorch marks which lined his back. Aang didn't mind, though. He almost preferred the silence as opposed to the nagging questions which he knew would bombard him later. Having Katara's company to bask in made him feel safe and at home… and for a minute, for a mere minute, he forgot the past few months.

"Aang," Katara began, unsure of how to ask her burning question. Aang said nothing but glanced at her over his shoulder to show he had heard her. He knew what was coming.

"When we rescued you… Zuko… H-he refused to tell me everything." She waited patiently, and then continued, "He said… that you wanted to tell me what happened. When you were…"

"I'm not."

"What?"

"Katara… I'm not ready yet. Please." Katara shifted her eyes to the floor, and nodded continuing her healing on an especially fresh looking burn. The Avatar's back suddenly arched and he groaned loudly.

"Wow. You're definitely in the right area." He hunched back over, letting his elbows rest on his knees as he allowed Katara to relieve his pain. Minutes later, she announced that she was done and quickly took the seat next to Aang, folding her legs beneath her. She gently breathed his name and he turned away, ashamed.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you Katara. You know I'd trust you with my life… But I can't right now. It's too hard and still too fresh on my mind, and I can't bring myself to admit what that monster did to me." She placed a hand on his shoulder lovingly.

"Aang, it's alright. I unde-"

"Don't." He jerked away from her touch and could sense the tears streaming down her face. "Don't say you understand, Katara. Don't say you're sorry. Just don't." He mimicked her and began to sob silently.

"You will never understand what I'm going through. You will never understand my pain, my emotions right now. You couldn't possibly even try to comprehend."

"Aang, please, I just want t-"

"Katara, go. I want to be alone." He wouldn't look at her. He couldn't bear to see the pity which would show in her eyes- those eyes which always told him everything. He could hear the rustle of her clothing as she stood from the blanket.

She hesitated. Katara wanted so badly to touch him; to soothe all his fears and make the pain go away. But it wasn't her place.

"If that's what you want, Aang." She then strode from the room without another word and without looking back.

The air bender flung himself down onto the 'bed' and let the tears fall. He knew he had pushed her away. He had pushed all of them away. All they truly wanted was to help… but his pride would not allow it. Well, not so much his pride as the horrible feeling in his gut that they would feel disgusted by him if he ever admitted the truth.

Zuko suddenly entered the tent and Aang wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"Hey." Aang looked up at the prince: the only one in the world who knew what he had been through. He couldn't find his voice and nodded in response. Zuko walked over and moved to sit on the bed, and Aang sat up to allow him more room. "Katara says I have to stay in here with you. She doesn't want anyone to find out I'm here until we tell them you're here… She says it's 'too risky'," he chuckled darkly, "whatever that means."

He glanced over at the young Avatar, who hadn't uttered a word.

"You know you're going to have to tell her, Aang." He heard the air bender sigh in affirmation.

"I know, Zuko."

"It's just… She's not going to let this go, and you know that as well. She'll keep pestering you until she gets and answer. And when she's done, she'll pester some more… bit annoying really. You-"

"I know! I know! I KNOW!" Aang stood suddenly. The sharp, jarring pain between his legs forced him to sit back down with a groan. "I know she needs to know. And I need to be the one to tell her, but… I…," he tried to catch his falling tears as a sob broke through his lips. "Zuko, I-I _can't_. I-I just… I _can't…_ I can't bring myself to do it. I'm not ready. I can't do it."

The fire bender wrapped his arms around the younger boy and comforted him.

"Aang… I know it's hard… I know. But you're one of the strongest people I know."

"I'm not… I'm really not…" his voice was barely above a whisper. Zuko sighed in exasperation and wrapped his arms tighter around his friend.

"You're a tough kid, Aang… not many people can get through something like this." He released Aang from his arms and looked him in the eye. "But you _will._"

"How do you know?"

"Because _I've seen_ what you've had to endure. Everything that they ever put you through… you've always managed to come out on top. You did it then, and you can do it again. You can do this, Aang… and I'll help you! Katara, Sokka, and I… we'll all help you through this if you let us." Aang's eyes flickered away.

"Look at me." Gray eyes met tawny and Zuko continued, "You don't have to go through this alone. You're _never_ alone."

"Thanks, Zuko." Aang sniffled and embraced the fire bender in a friendly hug. Not one of comfort this time, but one of sheer gratitude. The light flickered across his face, making his scar seem more extreme and painful to look at… but Aang didn't mind.

Wait… flickering light?

Aang let out a gasp as he saw the orange and yellow colors dancing along the fabric of the tent. The flap burst open and Katara ran through, her kimono badly singed in areas and a burn mark rising up from her chest to her neck.

"Zuko," she panted, "get Aang out of here. Now! Get him as far away as possible!" Zuko grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave.

"Katara, what's happening out there? I can help!" She looked at him then at Aang, tears streaming down her face.

"Zhao found us." The boys simultaneously gasped and Aang began to tremble. He couldn't even listen to what Katara was saying anymore.

_No._ They room began to grow fuzzy around him and he felt awfully faint. He was suddenly flung onto someone's back and barely registered the fact that they were now broken into a full sprint and were headed towards the forest. He saw dark silhouettes against the bright flames, fighting one another.

Aang drifted in and out of consciousness. Zuko kept running even while his legs were screaming for him to cease. Aang's extra weight meant nothing. Of course, they had been feeding him, but he had barely gained back anything. His body had been fighting the nourishment; causing him to give back almost all that he was given.

Hours drifted by and Zuko finally collapsed in a canyon of sorts, taking Aang with him. They fell to the ground and instantly drifted into a welcomed slumber. He had never run so far in his life. Thank Agni for adrenaline.

%%%%%%%

The snapping of a twig tore his eyes open, as he jumped into a defensive stance. _How long was I out?_ It was dark out; darker than he had ever seen the sky. He assumed it was either very late, or incredibly early. The Avatar continued to sleep at Zuko's feet, unaware of any pending danger.

From the bushes, he emerged. Clad in his usual flashy uniform with a sadistic smile plastered to his face, Zhao truely looked all the monster that he was. Zuko's eyes narrowed as he swept to face him.

"How did you find us?" The Admiral smirked and strode confidently towards the prince, who quickly created a ring of fire around himself and Aang. Zhao meerely chuckled and advanced further.

"Oh, Zuko, you honestly didn't think you'd escape me did you? I've had my guards following you ever since you and your new pals busted out of my hold. I never left you. And now, you're mine again."

"Never." Zuko seethed. Zhao stepped through the flames and as he came within mere feet of the banished Prince, a ball of fire was blasted at his feet. Zuko's fist still smoldered with the aftermath of the blast but Zhao did not tarry in his advancement. As Zuko heard Aang wake with a groan behind him, he quickly began blasting his opponent with fireball after fireball, hoping to slow him down some.

"Aang, run! Get as far away from here as you can!" He quickly blocked an oncoming wave of flames. "Go now!"

He didn't need to be told twice. With much effort, Aang rose to his malnourished legs and began to stumble in the direction they had previously been heading. He soon broke into a limping gait where he gained speed and distance from the battles waging in his favor. Mile after mile, he ran, not knowing if he was even going anywhere. The only thing which clouded his mind was thoughts of Zhao and of his imprisonment. The tears flowed freely and, for once, Aang needn't bother wiping them away. He was alone.

His knees buckled beneath him and he collapsed in a pile of mud, panting heavily. He was alone. No Zuko, no Katara, no Appa. His vision blurred and his head swam with fatigue and dizziness. He never heard the Admiral approach.

Aang was suddenly picked up by the hair and thrown back onto the ground, face up. He groaned and tried to stop his world from spinning and Zhao slowly came into view, a malicious smile in place.

"Once again, Avatar, you are _mine."_ The Admiral reached down towards his prize and gripped him by the throat pinning him against a nearby tree. His face leaded in close to the Avatar's and he breathed out a bout of steam before slowly heating his hand, charring the skin beneath. Aang whimpered and screamed as his flesh melted away along his jawline... the same skin which Katara had only just begun healing.

%%%%%%%

Katara threw another water whip at her attacker, knocking him to the ground. The blaze from their camp lit up the night sky and turned it a sad, but beautiful, orange. Sokka sidled up next to his sister, using his boomerang to battle his own share of fire benders.

"Katara," Sokka panted, "you need to find Aang and Zuko. I haven't seen Zhao, and I'm thinking he probably went after them." Katara's eyes grew wide and concerned. "We'll hold of his cronies; just go find Aang." With a nod, she took off in the direction she saw Zuko run and didn't stop. Her concern and fear for her air bender pushed her forward and she ran farther and farther until she reached a canyon. Katara stopped to catch her breath and was about to push on, when she saw a crumpled heap on the canyon floor.

"Zuko." She breathed and knelt down beside him. He was badly burned, but it was nothing too serious. He groaned as he lifted his gaze to meet the water bender's.

"Katara?" Zuko's eyes grew wide as he was thrust back to reality.

_Zhao._

"Aang. H-he must have run off, and... Zhao," he looked at the dirt floor. "I couldn't stop him... He's probably caught up with Aang by now. I'm so sorry, Katara. I couldn't protect him." A lone tear strayed down his cheek.

"There's no need to apologize, Zuko, just tell me which way they went." The prince pointed down to one end of the canyon.

"Aang headed in that direction. I'm not sure how far he got." Silently, she stood. "Wait," he called, "I'm coming with you."

"Zuko, I don't think-"

"I'm coming with you." He repeated. With a sigh, Katara helped him to his feet and they began their search. After awhile, Zuko insisted he could move on his own, and they picked up their pace, running through the canyon with only hope pushing them on. When they came to a small forest, Zuko knelt down at the base of a tree and pointed to the mud.

"They were here." He announced, gesturing to the muddy footprints. "Let's go. They can't be far."

%%%%%%%

_I was free._ _I was free, and now he has me once again._

Aang released a groan as his captor slowly stroked his side with his fingers.

"You've gained a little weight," Zhao marveled as he traced the patterned rib lines on the boy's torso. "Good. You were a bit skinny for my liking... But now-" He pressed his body flush against Aang and the air bender could feel every muscle in the Admiral's body. Including one, especially prominent, structure below his waist.

"You have no idea how much I've missed this little body of yours." He quickly darted out his tongue and traced the burnt flesh along Aang's jawline and laughed as the boy squirmed in discomfort. "You must always remember, little Avatar," he continued, "that you are _mine_. And it will always be that way." Aang trembled and felt the tears fall. He didn't care anymore if the Admiral saw his tears. He was alone. And no one was coming for him.

"Did you miss me, little one?" Aang gathered up his courage and spit in Zhao's face in response. He was promptly released and fell into the mud, his back harshly scraping against the tree bark as he slid down. Zhao wiped the spit from his eyes and glared at his prisoner. His hand lashed out and gripped Aang's throat, thrusting the boy deep into the mud. The air bender struggled to breathe as his windpipe was slowly being crushed under the Admiral's weight.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." He growled. Aang struggled in his grasp. "Are you ready to show me how much you missed me?"

Aang's eyes grew wide and he stopped resisting. His body was shutting down, blocking out what he knew was about to happen. The Avatar's eyes dimmed, his lids drooped, and his body became limp as he receded back into the corner of his own mind, trying desperately to go somewhere other than here. He faintly felt Zhao's hands turning him over, and removing the small scrap of cloth which covered him, but then he was gone: a zombie in his own body.

Two sets of tear-filled eyes watched on from the bushes.

**poor Aang :( REVIEW!**


	11. Author Note

**Hola. Sooooooooo, I'm quite disappointed in the amount of reviews I've recieved for the last chapter. The next chapter is ready to go and waiting patiently on my computer... But I need to see that you guys want it..**

**I know, I'm terrible. **

**Thanks to angewomon143 and RandomPow3r. This next one will be dedicated to your awesomeness ^-^ **

**Chapter 11 will be posted mañana, but after that, I hope to see more review-age! Kapish? Good.**

**Toodles!**

**xxTAxx**


	12. 11: Revenge of the Broken

**HIYAH! Sorry about the last post... super mean of me. But it does, REALLY help me continue when I see your reviews. Anyhoo, I tweaked it so this chapters a bit longer for you guys :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it... but I'd like to!**

**%%%%%%%**

He saw red. Zuko couldn't even register what he was beholding in the clearing before him. Here, a few days after gaining freedom, Aang was being _reclaimed _by the monster that broke him apart to begin with.

Not if he could help it. (**NO. At this time, Zhao has not **_**done it.)**_

He leapt to his feet and darted into the clearing with a cry of desperation, shooting a blast of fire from his fist. His outburst startled the Admiral, but Zhao merely waved the attack away without as much as a glance in Zuko's direction. But it caused him to falter; to stop in his actions.

Zhao returned the attack with a kick spin, shooting a hot wave in Zuko's face, which the latter quickly blocked. It became an all-out fire fight. Each move made by Zuko was discarded by Zhao. Every attack Zhao threw was dissipated into the surrounding air. Neither could gain the advantage over the other.

Aang lay, helplessly, in the dirt beneath the two fire benders, still in his state of shock, when he felt a firm but comforting hand on him. It brought him out of his trance and he glanced up quickly to gaze into the amber eyes of an elderly man. The stranger's expression was calm, but urgent, and his eyes were kind.

"You need to get up." He spoke in a heavily accented voice. "Get back to the camp with your friend. I'll help my nephew." _General Iroh. _Zuko's uncle, whom Aang had heard countless stories about, stood before him in determination and bravery. He felt a sudden rush of love swell into his chest for the older man and realized it came from the way Zuko portrayed him in his tales. The banished Prince had many regrets in his life, but none as powerful as the day he betrayed his uncle.

They had been granted a chance to live out the remainder of their lives as refugees- never to be discovered; a life of peace. Zuko chose to follow his sister, Azula, sending his uncle to prison to rot.

A stray blast nearly took off Aang's eyebrows and he made to stand, but was stopped when he saw Zuko fall. He stared at the prince, begging him to climb to his feet… but to no avail. Zuko was down, probably knocked unconscious from the final blow.

Katara leapt from the shrubbery and attacked Zhao with a torrent of water as Iroh tended to his nephew, finally broken from her daze. Wave after wave crashed down on him in her rage, as she bended the water from the nearby stream. Iroh made to assist her, but Katara convinced him that she could handle it. Wordlessly, he grabbed Zuko and headed back to camp.

Zhao lay, helpless, on the ground. His fire bending was useless with the water constantly surrounding him. Finally, the attacks ceased.

"You… horrible _monster_." Katara sobbed. "Haven't you made him suffer enough? He's only a child and you almost…" Another wave was beckoned towards him, but the Admiral was too quick and ducked out of the way, returning her attack with a powerful blast which knocked Katara off of her feet. She tried to stand but was immediately forced back down by the pain in her legs as Zhao silently stepped on them. She felt the bones break inside her legs and saw them twist at odd angles. Katara cried out in pain and Zhao smirked at the child's pain.

"What I _almost _did? Are you truly that blind, little girl? I'm simply reclaiming what is rightfully mine." Katara glanced up at the Admiral with pain and hatred in her eyes, seeing that he now held Aang by the nape of his neck. But there was also much confusion laced in the blue orbs.

"I suppose he never told you about our little adventures together, did he? He is my prisoner in more ways than one… my captive and my little plaything."

"No." Katara's eyes grew wide. "You're lying!"

"Yes, the Avatar has become somewhat of a toy for me. He's quite a little slut at heart, you know." He stared at the water tribe girl, who now had tears streaming down her cheeks as reality finally descended upon her. It all made sense now: why Aang bulked at her touch, why he was so afraid to tell her.

"You feel for him… don't you?" Katara glared up at the monster who had begun to laugh. "Oh, how I would love to put on a show for you! How I would love to have you see him break in front of you; so you could finally see him as he truly is: weak. Too bad I don't really have that much time to spare…" He began to drag Aang away, when he suddenly turned.

"…Though it _would_ be worth it." He slammed Aang against a nearby tree, causing him to cry out; his eyes growing wide in realization. Then, Zhao leaned in quickly and pressed their lips together, forcing his tongue inside Aang's mouth. This was different, and Aang didn't like it one bit. He fought and squirmed and even tried to bite the Admiral's tongue off. Sadly, this only succeeded in both turning him on and causing his tongue to heat up and blister the Avatar's lips and mouth. As Zhao pulled away he nibbled Aang's lower lip, causing it to break open and bleed.

He was suddenly slammed into the muddy ground, with the Admiral's face staring down at him intensely. Zhao leaned in once more and kissed the outer corner of Aang's mouth trailing his way down to the Avatar's collarbone. Aang squirmed and tried desperately to get free and he heard Katara's heavy sobbing in the distance as she watched the scene in horror. He began to scream and cry in revulsion as Zhao's burning kisses descended lower and lower. Suddenly, he felt a tight vice grip his shaft.

"You are mine, Avatar." Zhao's hot breath surrounded him, and he couldn't think straight. "You always will be mine."

"No." The voice which replied back was not the voice of a twelve-year-old airbender, but the hundreds of voices of his past lives. The Avatars had finally come to Aang's assistance.

Zhao was blasted away from the boy with a swirl of air bending and was knocked to the ground. Aang, in the Avatar state, advanced towards his former-captor, feet never touching the ground. The scene was eerie and haunting as Aang appeared almost ghost-like, and the Admiral backed away in sudden horror.

A ring of earth rose around the two figures, enclosing them to the world and preventing Zhao's escape. When Zhao attempted to blast a fire ball at his attacker, his fist was promptly encased in a rock prison. The fireball, which had been shot, merely vaporized into the surrounding air without any visible movement from the Avatar. A haze surrounded the air bender's body and he was suddenly separated into four figures. The Avatars Roku, Kyoshi, and Kuruk suddenly appeared before him and stood alongside Aang. As one, they spoke.

"Admiral Zhao, you have disrupted the balance within the spirit of the Avatar itself. Your inexcusable crimes against the Avatar will not go unpunished."

Terrified, Zhao quickly made a wall of fire between him and the spirits. The four figures, however, merely dissolved through it and the fire dissipated behind them. Together, they made a rising and falling motion with their hands and Zhao was suddenly falling in a black abyss. His crimes finally righted in the world.

The earthen wall crumbled and the Avatars swiftly merged back into the air bender's body, which began to fall from fatigue. Gentle hands rose to break his fall, as Katara cradled her air bender in her arms.

_Rest now, Aang. You can finally have peace._

**Check out my fanart, titled "Revenge of the Broken" on Deviantart! Same penname :)**_  
_


	13. 12: Awakening

**HOW MUCH DO YOU FRICKIN LOVE ME?**

**:D**

**Lots of Kataang in this chapter and it also focuses on Zuko in the beginning with the introduction of a new character in the middle! YAAAAAYYY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this shizzzzzzzzzzzzz.**

**%%%%%%%**

His eyes flickered open hesitantly. The pounding in his head wouldn't cease and a groan escaped from the fire bender's lips. A gasp resounded near him and he was suddenly captured in a warm embrace. Zuko tried to grip onto reality, attempting to piece together what had happened, but no solace came.

He pulled away from the stranger, feeling a wetness trickle down his neck, and released a gasp.

"Uncle!"

General Iroh smiled sadly at his young nephew, and reached out a hand to grasp his shoulder tightly. Zuko winced in pain, but promptly ignored it and gripped his uncle in a warm embrace.

"Uncle… I-I'm so sorry, uncle." The young fire bender sobbed on his relative's shoulder. "I made a mistake all those months back. I should have never listened to Azula! You've always been there for me… even when I've never returned your kindness… and I betrayed you."

"You were lost, Prince Zuko. But now you have found your way and have righted all the wrongs of our ancestors by helping the Avatar escape his terrible fate. ." Iroh responded as he released Zuko from the embrace and smiled. "You have come so far and I have never been more proud." The tears threatened to spill over and Zuko pulled his uncle into another hug, crying out all his anguish and pain from the past few months. He choked out the story of what he had been forced to watch Zhao do to his young friend, and also how they escaped.

"Uncle… what happened? How long have I been out?" Iroh looked away.

"Not long, I'm pleased to say. And you have recovered quickly."

"But what happened, Uncle? Did Zhao escape? Where's Aang?"

"Zhao… is dead, Prince Zuko." Iroh informed him. "From what the waterbender has told me, Aang entered the Avatar state and killed him. Aang has yet to wake up, but when he does, we must treat the occasion delicately."

Zuko simply nodded in response. _Poor, Aang… This is going to tear him apart._

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By the time Zuko woke up, word had spread of the Avatar's presence in the camp. All were overjoyed at the news of the Avatar being alive, and it quickly overturned the sour mood from losing so many in the previous battle. When all bodies were finally tallied, twelve were announced dead and nine more were terribly wounded.

Katara and Sokka's father, Hakoda, and the men of the Southern Water Tribe had apparently arrived mid-battle, and quickly helped to drive away the impending fire benders. Iroh and the other members of the White Lotus also provided assistance, until, of course, Iroh left to find his nephew.

At the time of Zuko's awakening, the camp was already being rebuilt by various groups from around the world. Suki and several Kyoshi warriors were aiding numerous earth benders, including a man named Haru and his father.

Zuko took the time to visit and meet all the new people and listen to their stories of how they had met Katara and Sokka through various adventures. Now that he had changed, he seemed to take more of an interest in the lives of other refugees like himself. Doing so, made him realize the extent of the fire nation's actions and how other people were strongly affected by them. Despite the recent battle, the site was bustling with jovial activity and everyone seemed chipper to begin the day anew.

But then, Aang woke up.

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He awoke with a groan. His back throbbed, and Aang realized it must have split open in the events of the previous night. Or, not the previous night… How long had he been out? And where was everybody?

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, begging them to adjust to the poor lighting. When no one came in the lean-to tent for several minutes, he grabbed his staff, which rested on the earthen wall, and propped himself up. Using the ancient glider as a cane, he pushed aside the fabric and hobbled outside, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight.

"He's awake!"

Sokka sprinted up to him and tackled him in a bone crushing hug.

"It's about time you woke up, sport! We were starting to worry about you!" Aang blinked and took in his surroundings, eyes steadily adjusting to the blinding light. Katara was standing at a distance, talking to an older water tribe man and young earth bender, but keeping her eyes trained on her brother and Aang

"Sokka?" Aang managed. Katara began to walk over, beckoning the earth bender to join her, and stood behind her brother, glancing at the air bender with concern. "What happened? Where are Zhao and the other fire benders?"

"We fought off his cronies a couple days ago, buddy. You've been out for quite a while, and I don't blame ya! You've had a rough couple of days and you deserve some rest and relaxation!" Sokka did his best to lighten the mood, but Aang felt how it was slightly forced.

"Katara, where's Zhao?" The earth bender stepped forward when Katara began fumbling over her words in attempts to produce an explanation.

"He's gone, kid. That's all you need to know right now." He stared at the small girl in awe. She was incredibly petite, and young, from what he gathered, but had the attitude of a tigerdillo.

"Who're you?" Aang asked her.

"This is Toph, Aang. We found her on one of our market stops to gather food, and she insisted on coming with us. She's an excellent earth bender and has really stepped up to the plate around here." Katara explained. Toph released a hearty laugh, and Aang saw, when her eyes reopened, that she was blind.

"Thanks, Sugar Queen. What a royal introduction!" Toph laughed, punching Katara in the shoulder.

"'Sugar Queen'?" Aang scratched at his head.

"I made up nicknames for everybody!" Toph exclaimed. "Katara is Sugar Queen and Sokka is Snoozles… 'Cause he sleeps a lot." Aang snickered and repeated Sokka's nickname. "And, yes, in case you were wondering, I _am _blind. I have been for my entire life."

"How do you earth bend?" Aang politely asked the young girl. Toph smiled and explained how she was taught by the blind badger moles when she was lost in a cave one day.

"I feel the vibrations of the earth and it allows me to see just as you do." She finished.

"That's amazin-AAUGH!" Aang gripped his side, where his back wounds had reopened, and faltered slightly. Katara strode over to him and held him underneath his arm to support the majority of his weight.

"Guess it's time for a healing session." The two slowly made their way back to the tent, with Aang using Katara and his staff for support. Katara knew the questions would start as soon as they were alone and, for that, she was afraid.

As she tenderly worked on his back, sealing the broken wounds once more, he spoke.

"Katara, what is everyone not telling me?" She inhaled deeply, the let out the air slowly and deliberately, her hands hesitating over a small tear in his smooth skin.

"It wasn't your fault Aang… you have to know that." She began. "It was the Avatar State… you must have triggered it during the fight and now…"

Inhale. Exhale.

"Zhao is dead, Aang." Her friend stood and broke away from her touch.

"And I killed him, didn't I?" Katara didn't respond, but the silence was enough for him. His tears fell down his cheeks and splashed to the ground as she wrapped him in an embrace.

"You mustn't blame yourself, Aang. We all know you weren't really yourself when it happened."

"But it _was_ me, Katara. I wanted it to happen… my past lives just helped me do what I was too weak to do." He sighed and turned away, the tears coming down harder now. "The monks always taught me that all life was sacred… Even the tiniest spider-fly trapped in its own web deserved a second chance. And now… I just threw it all out the window. It's as if I'm disregarding everything my people stood for… Like I'm truly burying them and everything they believed in."

"You've been through so much, Aang… Gyatso and the others… they'd understand. What Zhao did to you was beyond wrong. It was unforgivable."

"Not as unforgivable as taking a life." His voice was just above a whisper. "Zhao _was _a monster, Katara. I'll freely admit that. But he didn't deserve to die. No one does." Katara looked away, shyly, but overcame her nerve quickly, deciding that she needed to know.

"Aang…" He turned to look at her, pressing her to continue. "Was he telling the truth? Is that what Zuko wouldn't tell me? That he… well, I mean-"

Aang shifted his eyes to look at the floor, the memories of his imprisonment beginning to surface to the forefront of his mind, and slowly spoke.

"Yes, Katara. What Zhao implied was true. R…R," he struggled to form the word, his tears cascading freely down his face. He took a deep breath and tried again. "Raping me was his favorite kind of torture. I think he knew the physical and emotional pain it would bring me, being raised by monks." Katara grasped his hand, and he allowed her to pull him close, not struggling against her embrace this time. She sobbed loudly on his shoulder, but if he minded, he never showed it.

Aang was simply glad she wasn't disgusted with him. She knew, now, what had happened. But she was still here, comforting him as Zuko had in that dark cell so long ago. After slightly wavering, he wrapped his arms around her small frame and held her tighter against him, breathing in her familiar scent, and burying his face into her hair.

He had grown in the months that they had been apart, and he was slightly taller than her, by about a half inch. She was surprised how much he had changed in that short time. He had hair now, of course, and he _was _quite a bit taller than her, which was only amplified by his shrunken stomach and bony appearance. His eyes appeared harder- less child-like than when they had first met- but his gaze still smoldered when he met her eyes.

She knew that she was falling for him. Even after everything he had been through, he was still the same old Aang: always strong when she needed him to be. His recovery process would take time, and she knew that she needed to be patient, but having her there every step of the way would surely help him along. She would always be there when he needed.

**REVIEW!**


	14. 13: The Last

**ALHBDVIYGLIEBRFJASNF;OSEUKE! I HATE WRITER'S BLOOCK!**

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They sat around the campfire: sharing stories, rejoicing in the Avatar's return, and introducing the newest members to the rest of the team. All members of the resistence sat near the fire, warming themselves on this particularily cold night, and Zuko worked to keep the fire burning bright. Few sat too near to him, and it was obvious that everyone in the camp was leary of having a firebender in their midst.

But Aang took the empty seat on Zuko's right and immediately struck up a conversation. Many were also leary of Aang, as he had disappeared from the world several months ago and the campsite had yet to hear any explanation as to why. Katara, Zuko, and Iroh were the three who knew of Aang's condition. Even Sokka didn't know what Aang had been through in his imprisonment, not that he would ever ask his airbending companion... He knew that Aang would talk when he was ready.

Ikao was in the middle of his story about how he met the water tribe siblings: "I thought I was done for. The warden literally had me by the throat, up against the wall when Katara ran in and threw a rock at my head."

"I did not!" She protested loudly from a few rocks away. "I was trying to help you... And the rock went nowhere near your head!"

"Whatever." He grinned back at her, shamelessly flirting. "Anyway, I took that little pebble and spread it out in a sheet of rock and tackled the warden to the ground and wrapped him up tight! Then I, along with everyone else on that God forsaken island, escaped with our lives!... Though, I wish I could say the same for my father..." The young Avatar cast a worried glance over at the earth bender.

"What happened to him?" Aang wondered aloud. Ikao glanced over at the speaker, and then looked away.

"I really don't want to talk about it."

A nearby companion draped his arm around the boys shoulders. Ikao was still young, around the age of fourteen, but was stunningly wise for his age. His dark, chestnut hair was cut at his jawline at odd angles, but suited his unnaturally long face, and his body was sturdy. _Like a rock, _Aang mused. Ikao's jade eyes held much grief and sorrow and it saddened Aang to see such a lively spirit be so overcome by war.

Katara leaned over and handed her friend a steaming cup of tea, hoping to calm his frazzled nerves. They had only met Ikao a few weeks ago, and sadly, he didn't seem to be handling things any better than he had been the day they met. His father had been beaten to death in that prison... in the prison yard, in fact... and his only son had been forced to watch. Katara had never learned why his father had been so severely punished, but judging by Ikao's hatred for the fire nation, she guessed that it had been unjustly given. He graciously accepted the hot drink and gave her a wavering smile.

"Thanks, Katara."

Sokka leaned nearer to the fire, welcoming the warmth to drive away the chilly air and Suki snuggled in closer to him. He struggled with the words he so desperately wanted to say, but finally opened his mouth.

"We completely understand, Ikao. Whether you know it or not, a lot of us here have lost those who are closest to us as well. A few years ago, Katara and I... We lost our mom." Hakoda looked away from the fire, hurt flashing through his features- his son's words opening up newly-sealed wounds. Katara stared at her sibling, the firelight eluminating her tear-filled eyes.

"During one of the fire nation raids on our tribe to eliminate the water benders of the world, a man came into our home and killed our mother. She had been protecting Katara, the last bender in the South Pole, by claiming that she, herself, was the one they were searching for. And for that, she was murdered outright." Sokka stared deep into the fire and stood. "Whether my family knows it or not, my mom is the reason I'm fighting in this war; she's the reason I've grown up so fast. I someday hoped to do my part in stopping this war from destroying the world so that no one else would be forced to suffer the way we have. No one should ever have to lose their mother... or father."

"Our dad left a little over two years ago to fight in the war." Katara continued. "He along with the men of our tribe journeyed far away from the Pole, and many of us were terrified as to whether we would ever see them again. We continually asked ourselves, 'will they _ever_ return home?'" Many of the water tribe men looked down at their hands or attempted to distract themselves with other such pastimes. "Our mother was gone, and now, so was our father. We felt so alone."

"At least you had Gran-gran." The voice startled the siblings out of their memories and they turned to face their Avatar. Aang, who had perched himself on the log next to Zuko was smiling comfortingly at his friends, with only kind intentions in his heart. The young monk didn't like the talk of doom and gloom and genuinely wanted to lift the spirits of the people by the camp fire. Hurt flashed in Sokka's eyes, and was quickly replaced by a boiling anger and his eyes narrowed into deadly slits.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't really expect _you_ of all people to understand, Aang. After all, you've never even a family of your own. How could you possibly understand what it feels like to lose someone who holds a spot so close to your heart? Someone who fills your life with meaning? You will _never_ understand that feeling. Ever. I know you're going through some pretty messed up shit right now... trust me, I get it. But don't pretend to know what I've been through, and don't pretend to understand how I feel." The fire began to slowly dim as Zuko was no longer maintaining it, and the low firelight cast eerie shadows across the warriors face. "You will _never_ understand."

"Sokka, that's_ enough!_" Zuko hissed, holding the airbender tight against him. Throughout Sokka's little speech, Aang had increasingly become slightly more distressed. His grey eyes were now watering and his lower lip trembled slightly as Zuko held him. Aang quietly shrugged off his companions arm and stood to face Sokka.

"No. You're right. I don't know what that's like." He replied in a hushed, broken voice. "When I was born, my parents left me... It wasn't even as though they thought I would be too much responsibility! It was_ expected_ of them. I never knew my mother... I never knew my father. I was raised by the monks, and through my life at the temple, I learned to treat my companions as my family... That's why Gyatso and I were so close, and why my friends were so close. We were a family at the temple, and when I saw that they had all been killed... I-I lost it." The tear left his eyes and slowly cascaded down his cheeks. "But t-that's why... we're so close. You guys are all like my family... And I wouldn't trade that for anything..." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and bowed to the elders around the fire, hoping to escape and find some privacy for a little quiet meditation. "Please, excuse me."

With that, he turned on his heal and retreated into the forest. Katara watched him leave, stunned by the events that had just unfolded before her eyes, before quickly getting to her feet and hitting her brother on the first body part she could reach.

"Ow!" Sokka cried, rubbing his bruising shoulder. "What was _that_ for?" Katara's eye went wide.

"What was that _for? _How could you possibly think that he doesn't know what dealing with loss feels like? He's lost _everything,_ Sokka!" Her hands found her hips. "He's the_ last of his kind! _Or did you somehow forget that no one else in the _entire world_ can bend air? You're so... _unbelievable_! You go apologize to him this minute!"

He pouted, sticking his lower lip out and feigning anger at his younger sister for calling him out. But then he realized that she _was_ calling him out... he was wrong. A heavy weight pressed down on his chest. How could he yell at Aang like that? He was only trying to lighten the mood, and then Sokka just took the first chance he got to remind him of his past sufferings. Aang had lost everything... Except for Bumi, but that was no conciliation prize. His family, his friends... all dust in the wind now. He had never even been given the chance to tell them goodbye.

Sometimes, Sokka could be a real ass. He silently followed the airbender into the trees, praying to Yue that he would be able to find him in the vast surroundings.

**%%%%%%%**

The rolling sea and crashing waves below provided a steady, soothing rhythm on which Aang could meditate. He found a comfortable, grassy area on the cliff side and closed off his mind to the world. He desperately tried to not allow Sokka's words to bother him, but they began to slowly seep into his subconscious.

_"You don't know what it's like. You'll never know." _A lone tear rolled down his cheek, carrying all the grief and suffering Aang felt in that moment. At his jawline, it faltered for a moment, before dropping down and splashing onto the spot where a certain tattoo had once occupied. Pain ripped through him like lightening and his world began to flash brilliant colors, before finally fading altogether.

"Aang."

He whirled around, searching for anything to familiarize himself with in this pitch dark world. As he turned, a faint glow appeared of in the distance, and he hesitantly walked towards it, the voice continuing to call him. As the light grew closer, so too, did it grow brighter until Aang could make out a person hidden inside the orb. When he was near enough to see the old monk's face, he ceased to breathe altogether.

"Gyatso?"

The elder monk opened his tired eyes and, for the first time in a century, stared into the wondering orbs of his most beloved pupil. Aang crossed his legs and sat opposite of his mentor and, for awhile, the two simply looked at each other- taking a moment to ingrain each other in their memories. The student suddenly shifted in emotion, his wonder and awe turning into grief and utter pain at seeing Gyatso again, and he flung himself into the arms of his guardian. His mumbling became incoherent through his sobs as he buried his face in Gyatso's robes, apologizing again and again.

"My dear, dear boy." Gyatso sighed. "You have been through so much in your young life, haven't you? You've lost so much and... I-I'v missed you, Aang." He mirrored Aang and allowed a lone tear to fall for his student's pain.

"I've missed you, too. I'm so sorry, Gyatso. I should have been there to stop them when they came to the temple... I was the one they wanted, and I... I _abandoned_ my people. Because of me... they're all _gone_." He choked back a sob. "I will never forgive myself for leaving you."

"But I forgive you, Aang." His head jerked up at Gyatso's words. "You were young, and afraid. We all have done things that we are not proud of... but we must forgive ourselves for these actions, or we can never truly heal and continue with our lives. You are here now, when the world needs you most. You give them hope, Aang, as you gave me so many years ago."

"How can you forgive me? I-I left you! I'm responsible for everyone's disappearance! You _died_ because of me." His guardian released him and looked into his stormy eyes.

"We all come and go with the changing of the seasons. If the great spirits decided that it was time for our people to exit the world, then it must be so. But you lived. And for what purpose, but to bring the air benders back? You give the world hope that our people will return someday and we will, once again, be four nations strong." He wiped a tear from Aang's cheek. "You must forgive yourself, Aang. It is all in the past now, and no one, besides yourself, blames you for what happened that day."

"Okay, Gyatso. Someday... I _will_ forgive myself." They smiled at each other, before realizing that their time together would soon be ending. Embracing his master once more, Aang sobbed into his tunic. "Don't leave me, Gyatso." The elder's hand found the back of Aang's head and stroked it lovingly, hoping to soothe his young friend.

"We are always with you, young one. Whether we are a gentle breeze caressing your cheek, or a great, billowing storm in the distance, we are always with you." With that Gyatso's eyes drifted shut and his image slowly dissipated into the surrounding darkness, leaving Aang very much alone.

"No! Nooo!" He cried loudly into the emptiness, reaching out his hands and grabbing at the air where Gyatso had been moments ago. Without warning, he was dragged back to the cliffside by an invisible force and immediately fell to the ground, loudly sobbing into the dirt. Why couldn't the spirits jus let him die? All he wanted was to be in Gyatso's arms again, playing AirScooter Ball with his friends and Pai Sho with the elders, feeding the sky bison in their stables, and eating all the fruit pies his stomach could hold. Instead, he was here: a war-torn world where everyone expected something of him. They all wanted him to be their savior and to be strong when they needed something to lean on. _I'm just a kid._

Suddenly, the breeze around him picked up and he felt a small current graze his left forearm where his tattoo had been removed. His crying stopped instantly as he thought of Gyatso's words.

_Whether we are a gentle breeze caressing your cheek, or a great, billowing storm in the distance, we are always with you._

_You're always with me. _He wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled up at the night sky. Just then, a rustling in the bushes behind him snapped him out of his thoughts. Sokka stumbled out of the forest and fell the the ground on his hands and knees.

"Aang!" He yelled as he looked up and saw his friends sitting before him. "You have no idea how _worried_ we've all been!..." He looked away, somehow lost for words around the air bender. He gripped the back of his neck and rubbed it to ease the tension in the air.

"Aang... buddy... I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am. I didn't mean all those things I said to you, I was just... angry at the world, I guess. I know that you are the _last_ person I should have said that to... you've lost so much. I-I can't even imagine what that must be like."

"Sokka, it's alright. I forgive you." Aang stood carefully and walked over to his water tribe brother to embrace him. After a short hug, they separated and smiled gently at each other. "What's more... I finally forgive myself." Sokka smiled at him sadly and wordlessly took him by the arm, leading his exhausted companion back to camp.

"That's great, Aang. It really is."

**Okaaaay, not terrible... I actually quite like how this one turned out :) Next time, maybe some water/earth bendinnnggg? Yeah!**


	15. 14: New Beginnings

**HI :D Just wanted to thank Angewomon143 and RandomPow3r. You guys are the BEST _and_ my utter inspiration to continue! Thank you so much for constantly reviewing and providing me with awesome sorts of feedback (even if I sometimes _do_ forget Aang's hair)... LOVE YOU BOTH!**

**Also, a HUGE thanks to CallMeCado/A wish ribbon who has been drawing me ****fan art for my fic! Check it out on DA using the first username! They're AWESOME!  
**

**Disclaimer: The series isn't mine, but it _would_ be a great Christmas present ;)**

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**3 Months, 1 week, 5 days before the comet.**

Katara entered the tent. Aang's back was to her but it made no difference. She stopped in the doorway, unsure if she was intruding, but he glanced over his shoulder at her and waved her in. She briefly noticed how his eyes lit up when he saw her and a smile etched its way onto her features. Silently she took the spot next to him, and began healing anything she could reach.

"You've gained a little weight." Katara mused, running her hands over the muscles in his back. She heard him give a soft chuckle.

"Well, it's about time..." he muttered dryly, but quickly grinned at her to show he was only joking. Katara felt her heart race and face heat up when the smile reached his stormy, grey eyes. She was glad he was well enough to joke around... it was an improvement, at least.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well. Thank you. And yourself?"

"Aang, you know what I'm referring to." He sighed and turned to face her, eyes downcast.

"Sokka and I talked about it. We're all good. I know he didn't mean anything by it and that he really is sorry for what he said. It's fine, Katara."

"...My brother can be a bit inconsiderate at times..." She admitted. Placing a hand on his knee, she continued, "You seemed so hurt by his words... What changed?" Their eyes met and he once again turned from her, gluing his eyes to the earthen wall. "Aang?"

"I... I saw Gyatso." He was met with silence. No gasp, no questions, just silence. He realized that she was patiently waiting for him to continue. The airbender sucked in a heavy breath and Katara's hands latched onto his shoulders.

"He just sort of... appeared. We talked for a long time... about a lot of things. He told me tha- that he forgives me. He forgives me for abandoning them- for sending them to the death! He says it wasn't my fault and that I needed to forgive myself for my past mistakes... and I realized he was right." He glanced up at the beautiful waterbender who had rescued him all those months ago.

"I'm here, now, for a reason. You found me so that I may finally end this war and restore harmony and balance to the world. I couldn't do that if I was dead along with my people. The Avatar who ends this war needs to be an air bender... to give the world hope and faith that, someday, things _will_ go back to before. It had to be me."

"I'm glad you finally see it that way, Aang. Truly, I am." She sat beside him and pulled him into an embrace, holding him for as long as she could. His chest rose and fell against her skin and she found it hard to believe that she was holding an ancient spirit, instead of the twelve year old boy she saw in her arms. Katara felt grateful that the Avatar could not easily recall its past lives. To remember all the grief and suffering felt in thousands of lifetimes would be far too overwhelming for one person to handle.

She was happy that, for now, he could just be Aang. In this moment, he didn't need to save the world or master bending or repopulate his people. He just needed to let her hold him. For a reason she never found, he always knew exactly what people around him expected from him, and did whatever that was. If they wanted him to be strong, he was strong. If they needed him to be spiritual, he found a way. He always had the solutions to everyone else's problems, but never took the time to sort out his own.

He was left with the turmoil boiling and raging inside of him. Katara could not once pinpoint a time when Aang had shared a story about his life before the iceberg. She had heard the story of how he had discovered his true identity and dozens of tales about his friends abandoning him... but never a story of him and Gyatso, or of his friends before he found out the truth. She realized, with a start, that she truly didnt' even _know_ the boy cradled in her arms. Katara _knew_ the Avatar, and she _knew_ the goofy kid whom she had found in the iceberg.

But she didn't know _Aang:_ the monk, the air bending master with the tattoos to prove it, the kid.

She whispered his name, causing him to sit up away from her and gently dab the dampness from his eyes. She hadn't even realized that he had been crying, but was immediately relieved to find that they weren't tears of sorrow or pain, but tears of survival: of realization of what he had endured as a person and had lived through.

"One day... someday soon... will you tell me the story of how you got your air bending tattoos?" She gently asked him. His face primarily appeared shocked by the question. For him, it had come out of no where. But his eyes softened instantly and his face broke into a kind smile; a genuine smile.

"Of course I will Katara. I would love nothing more." She tenderly grasped his hand in hers and stood to leave him, excusing herself to see her father, and he reluctantly released her fingers from his, pouting slightly. He gripped his knees and was about to push off and clean his living area when her velvety voice called to him once again.

"... Aang?" He whipped his face up to her, seeing her hesitate in the doorway. Suddenly she walked back towards him, and bent down to his level. He couldn't think straight. Her scent washed over him and her face was a few centimeters away from his. Her lips found his forehead and rested there for probably longer than was necessary, but Katara couldn't seem to break away.

When she leaned away, she was pleased to find her air bender sitting in a state of shock, not fully comprehending what was happening around him. She reached out a comforting hand and place it lovingly on his shoulder.

"You're my family, too."

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"Put your back into it, Fairy Lady!"

His knees threatened to buckle beneath him as gravity pushed the boulder deeper into his spine. Being an airbender, he was built lean and long, not strong and sturdy a most earth benders were. Thus, the boulder was slowly crushing his spinal column.

Apparently, Toph's idea of earth bending training wasn't actually bending rocks around them, but physically carrying a large boulder up a vertical cliff face. Aang was past sweating. His body could be used as a swimming pool for small mammals by the time he closed the distance between him and the wall of earth. When he began to climb, however, (using Toph's earth bending to create steps) the rock threatened to slip from his grip from the amount of precipitation covering his hands.

"Get your knees higher, Princess!" His Sifu yelled down at him from his destination and he had barely processed what she had said when the floor beneath his feet suddenly lifted up and brought one knee to his chest and then the other. Aang growled in frustration as he contemplated using airbending to chuck the rock at the young girl's head.

A few days ago, he would have berated himself over such a thought. She was so young, and blind, that it gave her the instant appearance of being completely helpless. Aang had learned, however, that she was far from helpless... and she was definitely not an angel.

Her last pillar blast raised his knee up too high and he abruptly lost his balance, tipping back until, eventually, he was leaning too far over the edge to raise himself back up and he crashed to the ground with a thud. Luckily, his boulder landed in front of him instead of on top, but it had been at least an eight foot drop and he groaned from the bruises forming on his pained back.

A rumbling suddenly shook the earth beneath him as Toph landed beside him from her less-than-graceful fifty foot dive. Without stooping to help him climb to his feet or asking if he had hurt himself, she walked past him back towards camp.

"I think that's enough for today." He watched her leave until she was out of his sight, then slumped back to the ground with a groan and slipped into blessed unconsciousness.

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**NEXT ONE WILL BE UP MONDAY IF I GET REVIEWS.**

**PLEASE! Guys, this is for you! I lose motivation if I don't know what you think! It's awesome that you are faving my story... but ****_please_ provide a _little_ feedback? :( It doesn't take long, I promise!**

**xxTAxx**


	16. 15: New Enemies

**And so, the countdown begins :3 This chapter is much shorter, cuz I did update a few days ago… But the next one shall be longer! Promise! **

**This one is solely d****edicated to Angewomon143 cuzzzzz you're awesome!**

** Maldolwen: I threw in the earth bending because, in the series, he had already begun to practice ****water bending before Episode 13. So, I figured he could begin the others :)**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own the series or the character...**

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**3 Months, 4 days before the comet.**

The steel boots clicked loudly against the metal floors with each slow, strolling step. The lieutenant walked tall and proud despite the settling fear in his gut for the future confrontation. He clicked past the portraits of the generations of royalty and felt himself shrinking beneath Azulon's gaze.

The walls were painted a warm gold, and the blood red curtains which decorated the halls were beautifully furnished- fit for royalty. The lighting was dim, but the colors in the palace played with the shadows on the wall, causing them to feel inviting rather than intimidating. Zhin Lee felt as though he would never reach the far-off chamber as he strode gracefully down the final stretch, under the scrutiny of the royal guards.

Despite his shrieking nerves, he managed to maintain his composure and kept his breath deep and even, trying desperately to slow his rapid heartbeat. Reaching the guards, he inhaled silently.

"I request permission to see Princess Azula."

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"You just push and pull the water, like this, see? All it takes is getting the rhythm right." Katara glanced over at him and noticed with a slight frown that he wasn't following her lead. Aang, petrified at having been found staring at his waterbending beauty, quickly bent the water from the stream in an attempt to convince her he had actually been practicing like a good pupil. He, however, had not bent water in a long time and the result was a _very_ wet air bender.

Katara chuckled to herself at Aang's obvious frustration and lifted her hand to her cheek to cover up the burning pink tint which had begun to taint her skin. Had he really been looking at her?

"Almost." She instructed, snapping back into training mode. "Your elbows were too slack. You need to raise them higher and tighten them against your frame, so they form straight angles instead of curves." She placed her hands over his wrists and guided his arms into the proper position. Katara kept her mind focused on the task at hand, though her body screamed at her to do other, less... _honorable_… things, and she softly coaxed his arms to bend the water from the stream. With her help, he was successfully able to create a proper wave… though, _she_ did all the work.

He never took his eyes off of her, and feared his face would be permanently pink.

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She was sipping tea. It wasn't her _favorite_ past time, but as there was little to do around the palace grounds, it was all she could do to keep her from screaming the entire place down. She was alone in the chamber, with guards posted outside of her door. Daddy was off watching over the war effort or… something stupid like that… and Lo and Li were on Ember Island were they belonged.

So when the door to her room creaked open slowly, it was obvious as to the reason why she suddenly became irritated and irate.

"This had better be good, _peasant_." Her relaxed state didn't fool anyone. She was furious at having been disturbed and had half a mind to chuck the remainder of her steaming tea in the kneeling man's face. He lowered his torso to the ground, and seemed to kiss the floor, before addressing her.

"I'm _terribly_ sorry for the intrusion, Princess, but-"

"But, _what_?" Azula questioned as she leapt from her seat, landing gracefully beside the lieutenant's kneeling form. "I _specifically_ asked _not_ to be disturbed, and _yet_, here you are… disturbing me."

"Of course, Your Highness. But I came to bring you news."

"News? What news?" Azula sneered. "I've read all the local papers and our advisor updated me this morning. Tell me, how could there _possibly_ be any news?" He looked down at the floor.

"It is good news, Princess: the Avatar is alive. And our sources have pin-pointed his current location." The princess's back straightened as her eyes grew wide at the first tidbit of information, then again narrowed at the final words. She turned from the lieutenant, smirking as she strode away from him a few paces.

"That _is_ good news. _Very_ good news, indeed, Lieutenant." He remained low to the ground as he swiftly bowed and backed out of the room, leaving Azula alone to her thoughts and planning.

_Very good news, indeed._

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Sokka trekked his way through the forest, holding his precious capture, when he suddenly felt as though he was being followed. Tightening his grip on the animal, he picked up his pace in order to make it back to camp before…. well, who knows? The waertribe teen suddenly stopped. He was being foolish. No one was in the woods with him, following his every move. He was alone.

He continued on his merry way, strolling this time, when he felt it again. The prickling sensation at the nape of his next screaming, "they're coming! They're coming!" Anxiously, Sokka took his trusty boomerang out of its hold and turned to face whoever was there. But there was no one behind him, and no sounds to indicate he was indeed being watched. Only the prickling of his neck hairs.

"Whoever you are, you'd better leave! I'm warning you now: I have a boomerang! … And a ferret!" He thrust the animal into the air to prove his point. When no sounds or prickling were sensed, Sokka straightened up, darted his eyes around once more, and turned to leave.

"GAAAAHHH!" He _knew _he wasn't alone! Standing there, in front of the startled warrior was none other than the fire princess herself. In his fright, Sokka tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, his boomerang skidding away to an unknown location._  
_

"What are you going to do now, water peasant?" the Princess sneered. Limbs shaking, the boy held up the dead ferret by its tail, hoping to ward of any oncoming fire balls.

"And, _what,_ pray tell, are you going to do with a dead ferret?" She was joined by men in dark suits. Sokka couldn't count half of them, they were so concealed in the darkness, but knew in his heart he wouldn't win this fight.

"What do you want, Azula?" He questioned. Sokka knew better than to play her games. In the few times they had met while Aang was in captivity, she had always tricked him and his sister into doing something she wanted. Always.

"What? I can't stop by for a friendly visit?" She laughed. When he narrowed his eyes at her, she frowned. "Oh, alright, I'm here for the Avatar. We've-"

"The Avatar is _dead_, Azula. Or have you not heard?" He prayed he could stall her, or at least trick her into leaving. _Not Aang… they won't take him from us ever again._ He knew he might need to sacrifice himself: go with her to save his friend; and he was willing. Anything to keep Aang from harm.

"I _did_ hear, actually. But I also heard that he was found, alive, by you and that annoying sister of yours. And now he's hiding here, is that right?" Sokks could only shake his head in response. His fear had tightened his throat as to disable his speech.

Unfortunately, she didn't buy it. She stepped forward and angrily gripped him by the throat and pinned him to a tree.

"You _will _take us to him, or I will kill you and your worthless father." She was thrilled to see his eyes widen at the mention of Hakoda. "We've been tracking you for some time now, _Sokka._ We know how much you love your father; how much you want to please him. Just imagine: Katara was responsible for _Mommy's_ death and you will be responsible for _Daddy's_. How bittersweet." SHe promptly released him and he fell to the ground, sobbing.

"Dad…"

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She pulled back the flap of the tent, surprised to see Zuko sleeping soundly on a chair beside the bed. The Avatar must have been exhausted after a long day of training, as his limbs were practically falling off the bed and he was snoring lightly. She chuckled to herself, _candy from a baby._

Azula made her way towards the bed, stopping only to look upon her brother's sleeping form. Wordlessly, she lowered the scented cloth near his face and watched him inhale deeply a few times before she draped it over his mouth and nose and shoved her hand down. Zuko awoke with a fright, breathing in the drug, which was already in his system, and his mind quickly clouded and faded into unconsciousness.

Smiling at the lack of struggle, she walked over to her prize: the Avatar. Azula did the same for him, draping the cloth near his face so the drug would already begin to poison his mind, then crashing it down on him. He woke with a start, briefly flailing his limbs in attempt to remove the drug from his mouth and nose, but it was too late. His senses turned to mush and his vision swam with the image of the Princess's face. _Who are you? _he thought before he allowed himself to be taken by the darkness.

**:0 Oh. My. Garrrssshhh! REVIEW!**


	17. 16: Desolation

**2 months, 3 weeks, 6 days before Sozin's Comet arrives.**

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They came back, time and time again. After Sokka had returned from the forest, Hakoda had come to him in tears exclaiming that Katara was gone; that she had been captured by Azula. He later discovered that Aang and Zuko had also been taken, and that the camp was in distress, fearing of course for their own safety. Each day, more fighters were taken captive by the Princess's guards. Each day, Sokka watched as they came and left, not able to do anything to stop the horror from commencing.

What could he do? Toph had been taken at the last raid, and the young warrior new it was only a matter of time until they came for him

**%%%%%%%**

Katara struggled with the bonds holding her hands as she awoke from unconsciousness. Her back ached from lying on the cold, hard ground for so long and the skin around her wrists were left chafed and bleeding from the scratchy rope used to bind them together. She looked around her and saw that she was in a cell, almost like a prison. The walls were mildewy and smelled of a slaughterhouse and she was surrounded on three sides by thick, metal bars. As her vision panned from side to side, she noticed a figure in the far corner, huddled over in the fetal position, lying still as death itself. Her pupils struggled desperately to take in as much light as possible, but as there was only a faint source emitted from beyond her cell, she could not make odds or ends of the figure.

A noise to her left startled her out of her thoughts, and Katara searched for the noise, eyes plundering the dark corners of the cage for any sign of life, when they landed on a second figure at the opposite corner of the first. Though darker in this corner, Katara could clearly make out the boys trademark baldness and sighed with relief.

"Aang?" She realized that he must have been meditating as he jolted at the sound of his name.

"I was wondering which of you would wake up first." He sighed, allowing his posture and shoulders to sag as if burdened by a heavy weight. He continued to address her, though never moving his body to face her. "You should probably check on Zuko. He's been here longer than either of us and he's still out cold." _So that's who was lying in the corner. _The water bender shifted her gaze towards the fire prince, before returning her attention to Aang, slightly unsettled by his lack of emotion. He had never turned away from her, in all the time she had known him… She could really use those stormy eyes to calm her down now, and yet, he refused to grant her access to his all-telling orbs.

"Why won't you look at me, Aang?" She heard a rustle and saw the dark silhouette stand, shaking slightly, only to march closer to the torchlight. As he stepped nearer, Katara drew her hand to her mouth to muffle the strangled sob which tore from her throat as she caught a glimpse of his face.

_Oh, Aang._

The right half of his face was completely mangled, and it looked as though he had been in a nasty fight with a Tigerdillo. She shakily counted three gruesome gorges running vertically down his face. One, three-inch cut ran the length of his nose; another traced a wide path from his temple to his earlobe, before descending down the length of his neck. But the final one was the hardest to look at.

Resting clumsily between the other two, the gash twisted and jarred its way down the entire length of his face, beginning half an inch below his hairline. From there, it widened and carved a three-inch section from his eyebrow before delving into the eye itself. She noted briefly that the iris was a milky blue color and only showed in bits and pieces when the lids would allow it. The skin around the organ was irritated and infected, the swelling appearing almost more gruesome than the scar itself which ended its journey by cutting into the corner of his mouth and opening the corner wider as it finally rested along his jawline.

She stared. It was as though everything her mother had taught her about manners and proper etiquette had suddenly taken permanent leave from her mind and she couldn't bring herself to look away from her best friend's horrible disfiguration as he silently sat before her. Finally, her motherly instincts took sudden hold of her and she latched onto him as though he was being ripped away from her forever. He gasped for air as her death grip slowly crushed his windpipe.

"…tara… I… n't… brea…!"

"Sorry!" She exclaimed and quickly released him. He tenderly massaged his pulsating throat and winced a little as the air refilled his starving lungs. When he chanced to return his gaze to her, he was startled to see her watching his every movement, a foreboding look in her wide eyes. He chuckled darkly.

"Katara, it's okay. You didn't hurt me." Her expression changed none. Her eyes grew pitiful and forlorn as he quietly looked on at her, worry etching it's way into his features. She was silent for a long time, and Aang sadly wondered why she wasn't speaking. Then, with an exasperated sigh, Katara lowered her eyes to the ground and brought her knees up to hug them to her chest, her chin resting neatly on top.

"What happened to your face, Aang?" His eyes widened at the question, almost forgetting about what he had endured before his friend had come to. His vision slowly became blind to all color and his world turned into a grey haze, fogging up his mind and causing his head to swim. His mind quickly began filing through the memories like a photo album, not resting on any single image, but allowing his mind's eye to focus on each for enough time as to cause his heart to race and his breath to fall just short of erratic. Aang could hear his heart beating in his ears like a drum and his palms became slick with cold sweat as his eyes became locked upon the floor in front of him, not truly seeing the cobblestone pattern. Instead, he saw Zhao.

The Admiral was talking. Only, Aang couldn't make out what he was saying. At first, the young airbender thought it was another of his memories of his imprisonment… But as his mind focused more and more on the vision, he quickly saw that it wasn't. He didn't recognize the place where Zhao currently was, but if he didn't know better he'd have said it was the Spirit World.

(Aang?)

The vines were thick around him as he tried to escape them, screaming as they wrapped themselves around his ankles. He struggled to break free of the living plant, when suddenly Zhao was there, standing over him. He let out a shocked gasp as Zhao brought back his arm and bent a torrent of fire down upon Aang's helpless form.

(Aang!)

He opened his eyes. Roku was there, talking to Aang as they overlooked Zhao's unaware spirit. But, like it had been with Zhao, Aang could not hear a word of it.

"Roku! I don't understand! What are you trying to tell me?!" Aang shouted at his past life who, once again, seemed not to hear him. This was a vision which had repeatedly come to Aang after his final encounter with the Admiral. Each time, it was the same images, the same people, the same thing, over and over and over...

Never once, could he understand Roku's warning.

(Snap out of it, Aang!)

His eyes jolted open with sudden force and he panted harshly, trying to regain his breath. His body was covered with a sheen coat of sweat, and the injuries on his face screamed at him as they were trapped in the salty liquid. Aang scrunched his eyes tight in agony and frustration.

_What the hell are you trying to tell me, Roku?_

Katara was suddenly at his side, gazing worriedly at her best friend as she steadied his sitting figure. After she had asked about his scars, the air bender's body had suddenly gone limp and fell to the ground, twitching oddly and screaming aloud. His tattoos glowed violently, brighter than she had ever seen, and Katara wept in fear for her friend, upset on the fact that she had been the one to cause him this pain. As he came to, she saw the look of desolation in his eyes and sheer hopelessness within his very soul which tore her to bits inside, knowing that he was dying.

Not literally, of course. But Katara had seen it. Everyone else thought he was alright: the same old Aang… but she knew better. The lights were on, but no one was home.

The first night after the realization had descended upon her, she wasn't able to sleep. It was the day he had woken up after the trio had rescued him from Zhao. She remembered the look in his eyes as she had healed his wounds that day: so lost, so… empty... Katara knew that she had lost a very important person in her life, and that he was, quite possibly, never coming back to her.

And that realization scared her most of all.

She was brought back to reality when Aang emitted a soft groan; not of pain, but of frustration. She reached out a comforting hand and gently rested it on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. He offered her a small smile as he raised his eyes to look at her

"It was Roku," he admitted, "He's trying to warn me." Katara's brow knitted together as she searched Aang's confused gaze for answers, or hints even, as to what his Spirit World encounter had been about. When she asked what his past life had warned him about, he simply shrugged in response and seemed more agitated than ever.

"I don't know." His gaze slowly lifted from the floor and locked onto hers, his eyes holding a fire more intense than she had ever seen and she knew at once that it was the rage of a thousand lifetimes staring back at her through those tortured eyes.

"But it has to do with Zhao."

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Eep! What'll happen?! Send a tweet to my twitter account! Same name! And REVIEW!


	18. 17: Azula

**I'm updating on a Wednesday? What is this nonsense?! (You might ask) ****I was feeling generous (I might ****respond)**

**((*****PLEASE READ!*****))**

**Also, I will **possibly** be getting a new….. "family"… next Tuesday… He'll be coming over and watching me in the next week to see if I'm what he wants to have. And, since the "dad" I have now is the most generous one I've had so far, I doubt the new one will allow me to have computer access… Among other things. It's a very scary world we live in people! :( :( :(**

**So, as I'm not sure whether he will take me or not, I'm warning y'all now… This might be an end to this and _all_ future publishings by Muah…****:( Just in case, I'd like to say: I love you all dearly and I'm soooo happy at all the good friends I've made on this site. Thank you all for standing by me and keeping me going through all the tough times! I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you all! xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

**xxTAxx**

**NOW READ MY FANFICTION!**

**%%%%%%%**

**2 months, 3 weeks, 1 day before the arrival **

His limp body skidded harshly against the sharp stone floor, and she heard his cry of pain as the edges scraped into his back. Aang's body came to a rest a few feet from where she was chained, and it heaved with each struggling breath he took. From where she was, it was easy to see that he was steadily losing strength from the ongoing torture.

It had been ten days since she had been captured; seven days since Aang sustained his wound and partial blindness; five days since she had awoken (with Zuko following a day later); and two days since she first began to witness Aang's nightmare. Each day, they dragged him from the cage- two guards, heavily armed, though they knew he was no threat to them- and each time, Katara prayed to the spirits that it would be the last.

He was slowly slipping away, losing himself each time he was torn from her arms, and Katara's stomach had permanently knotted itself with the pain of the realization that he may never come back to her. Every night, before she sang him to sleep, she healed as many of his wounds as she could reach, always starting with his fingertips.

Aang had never given up the struggle, though the fire benders came back time and time again for him, he always resisted them. When they grabbed at his legs to haul him off to the waiting Fire Princess, he would dig his fingers into the stone floor and hold on until it became too much for him, when he would finally… let go. Doing this everyday caused the skin to continually tear from the bones in his digits, and Katara found that it became harder and harder to heal the skin completely.

Many of his wounds became infected long before she could tend to them, and she was not allotted enough water to properly heal even the smallest cut. The young water bender opted, instead, to treat only the most severe of the injuries, whenever she could.

But Aang was hurt far deeper than any healer could penetrate. It was his soul which needed to be healed, not his physical being.

Often times, Katara would start awake in the early hours of the morning, only to listen to Aang's cries of desolation. It was at these times when she was sure she could feel her heart shattering to pieces within her torso, only to heal by daybreak and be cleaved back open the next night. Sometimes, as she would listen, the airbender would call her name and she would race to his side to erase all of his fears before seeing that he was, in fact, still asleep. These were the times which caused her breathing to become hard and shallow as she held back the tears, knowing she could do nothing to save the boy in front of her from his dreams.

Other nights, the young Avatar called out another name in his sleep, one which caused Katara to cry for hours afterwards in anger and pain, sensing the pain the monster's name still brought her friend after so long.

Yesterday, she had been sure that Aang had been gone for good.

_She immediately stood at the bars, grasping them between her fingers, as she heard the sound of skin rubbing against stone. It was a sound she knew well as the arrival of Aang being brought back from his session with Azula. A low rumbling could be heard coming from far off down the corridor and Katara craned her neck to watch as her best friend was dragged closer to her. As they stopped outside of the cage to unlock the door, the little water bender looked desperately over her friend from afar, analyzing the skin around many of his untended wounds, when she noticed his lips moving continuously in a murmuring fashion._

_"Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, __Yukito, __Tsukasa, __Sakura, Nagisa, Yoru, Shiro, Makoda…"_

_As he entered the cage, she routinely reached for him and grasped his arm, pulling him close as he continued to list of his past lives._

_"Afiko, Ta Min, Gansu, Sangok, Tas-" Her arm made contact with his frame and his eyes grew wide at the unwelcome touch, his brain scrambling for a way out of being punished. He began screaming louder than Katara had thought possible for such a young boy, and thrashed around in her arms, desperately trying to break free of her grasp.  
_

_"TASHI, RUON-JIAN, OHEV, HIRYO, IIO…! GET OFF OF ME! DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T _TOUCH_ ME!" Tears flowed freely down both of their faces and she finally released his arm. The moment their bodies no longer touched, the Avatar slumped over as though exhausted and quietly continued with his mantra as though nothing had happened. Katara looked, with tear-filled eyes, onto her friend… disbelieving that this was the same young, innocent boy she had found in an block of ice all those months ago._

_How things had changed..._

A menacing cackle broke Katara from her memory and she looked with hatred at the sneering Princess who stood over Aang as though he were a bug which needed to be terminated quickly. Without hesitation, Azula gripped the boy by his throat and thrust him against the wall, seemingly pleased by the resounding _crack_ of Aang's skull making contact with the stone.

"You _will_ tell me how to activate the Avatar State. Or, you will watch as I slowly begin to destroy your friends… One. By. One." She smirked at the look of terror which flashed across her hostage's face. "The choice is yours, Avatar."

"_Please_… I've already told you… I don't know how." Aang pleaded from his position against the wall. "It just sort of… happens." Azula released him and he dropped to the floor, stunned and left gasping for air. She lazily strolled about the home-made torture chamber.

"Well, you'd better start thinking long and hard, Mister. I'm not sure how many fingers this little water peasant is willing to lose…" With that, Katara was met with a sudden pain in her right hand as she felt her palm grow slick and warm. As her hands were chained behind her back, she couldn't look to asses the damage… But she didn't have to wait long to find out what had happened.

Azula stepped out from behind Katara, holding up her prize as if to show the spirits her amazing feat. When she was met with confusion and little applause from her stunned guards, she idly tossed the object at the now kneeling air bender, who recoiled as it landed near enough for him to recognize.

It was a _finger_. _Katara's_ finger.

Aang glared up at the smug Princess with anger and utter sadness in his tear-filled, stormy eyes. He fought an inner battle to calm himself down… He couldn't risk going into the Avatar state… Not after what Roku had told him after his encounter with Zhao.

_"The Avatar State is a defense mechanism, designed to enpower you with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars. The glow is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through your body. In the Avatar State, you are at your most powerful, but you are also at your most vulnerable._

_"If you are killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle will be broken, and the Avatar will cease to exist…."_

Roku's words continued to chill Aang to his core, but now he understood. He could never risk destroying all future hopes of the Avatar bringing peace to the waiting world.

He was suddenly brought out of his reverie by a sharp pain in his side. Aang's body flew through the air from the sudden impact and his body skidded noisily to a halt a few meters away from where it had previously rested.

"How _dare_ you ignore me, you filth!" Azula roared through the foggy haze which clouded the young Avatar's mind. "I am a _Princess_, and I will _not_ be ignored by the likes of you! You will _look at me _while I'm talking!" She delivered another swift kick to the boy's side, and his world burst into millions of brightly colored stars as his head slammed against the stone wall.

Her hot breath was suddenly blasting into his ear as his face was pressed down to the floor.

"Kiss the floor that I walk on, Avatar. Show your Princess some respect." She cooed dangerously from her position above his head. He felt her claws digging into his flesh not a moment later as she hissed in his ear, "_Kiss. It._" He chose instead to spit in her face, and he was abruptly flying across the floor only to stop at the feet of a newcomer who had only _just _entered the room.

"Well, if it isn't my old _plaything_…" The husky voice was followed immediately by three simultaneous gasps echoing through the room as Azula stood in front of her brother and Katara, looking smug as usual. Aang's eyes had already begun to brim over with tears as he lifted his gaze up to look Zhao in the eye.

**REVIEW!**


	19. 18: Goodbye… I'm So Sorry

**I feel sick to my stomach… Ripped apart at my seams. She was all I had in my broken, damned life and now she will never be there again: laughing with me, crying with me, sharing my pain. I suppose you could say I loved her… she was the only one who understood me and, for once, my fate seemed bearable so long as I had her to talk to.**

**Izzy. If you're reading this, you were my best friend. My heart aches for you, knowing you got into trouble because you talked to me… I never meant to hurt you. I never want to hurt you. You're the strongest, kindest, most amazing person I know and I hope your life reflects those qualities. You got me through some rough patches and I cannot thank you enough…**

**But it happened… James took the offer... I'm so, so sorry. This will be my last post… probably ever. I love you (to all my readers and followers). May life bless you with the happiness it has taken from me…**

**CallMeCado/a wish ribbon. Please continue drawing, your work is incredible! Maybe one day I can pick up the story again…**

**RandomPow3r/shiwyperson. You're the best aussie a girl could ever wish for. I love you with all my heart and you've been amazing through it all… Please continue with your awesomeness though I won't be around to hear about it..**

**Angewomon/To The Lighter Side/SoBadAtBeingGood/InaZumaElle. Thank you. You've all been so wonderful! I'll PM you all if I ever come back. **

**Goodbye.**  
**xxTigerAvatarxx**

*****This is as much as I got done for the next chapter… enjoy :(*****

His foot was grabbed suddenly and Aang felt his fingers tear open once more as he clawed madly at the stone floor beneath him, trying desperately to escape Zhao's grip.

"You are mine, Avatar." The firebender's hot breath choked the air from Aang's lungs and caused his eyes to water with the heat and rotten stench of the foul air. "You will always be mine." As the Princesse's laughter faded in the distance along with his friends' pitying faces, Aang suddenly knew that these breaths might very well be his last...


	20. XD GUESS WHO?

Hello, my Darlings!

I'm alive and well and my life is finally beginning to stabilize after years of unbelievable turmoil and sadness. :) I can't tell you how much it has meant to me to come back and see all of your posts of love and support…. minus a few…. But I may actually begin a full length autobiography to be published to the public (details are still sketchy though). But here are the facts: I AM HERE TO STAY :)

I will be continuing this story as soon as I have the time to begin writing again… Little ol' me might be attending COLLEGE! **excessive tear bending** My life can finally start again!

LOVE YOU ALL! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

xxTigerAvatarxx

(Your Friend: Ali)


	21. 19: A Brave Heart

**MAN, it feels good to be writing again! I've missed you guys soooo much! **

**I promise this chapter will be KICKASS ;) READ CAREFULLY, though!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the rights to A:TLA, don't you think I'd be using my time to correct the injustice that is M. Night Shyamalan?**

The strangled, sharp gasp which broke from the young boy's lips echoed through the chamber. From where she was chained, Katara saw the tears of unequivocal terror slip out and crash to the floor beneath his quivering form.

It wasn't possible. He repeated it like a broken record again and again in his mind. He can't be here. Zhao... is dead... Isn't he? He remembered the way Katara had come to him with the news.

_"… It was the Avatar State… you must have triggered it during the fight and now… Zhao is dead, Aang." _

_"And I killed him, didn't I?" _

_"You mustn't blame yourself, Aang. We all know you weren't really yourself when it happened."_

So how was it that he was here, standing before Aang in all his monstrosity, when he should be kissing the floor of the Spirit World, begging his past lives for mercy? What the _hell_ was going on?

"I see you're stunned into silence, little one." The smug voice sounded above him. "Let me help you with that." At the last word, he drew his spike-toed boot back and dealt him a swift blow to the throat, which drew a sharp gasp from the young Avatar. The front spike had done damage to his trachea, puncturing a hole through the front, causing Aang to inhale deeply and cry in sheer pain. His throat began to crumble in on itself, leaving Aang sputtering for air through the blood which had begun flowing into his windpipe. The puncture wound spurted blood onto the floor around him as he struggled to do something… anything… to escape from his pain.

As if the world had suddenly stopped, the water bender watched the scene happen in absolute silence, as though the world had simply lost its voice. She could only hear the ringing in her ears that was steadily getting louder, drowning out all other noise, including Aang's heart wrenching breaths, as she forced herself to not succumb to unconsciousness. Very suddenly, Katara felt her shackles loosen around her wrists and ankles, from which she was held by strong, steady hands and guided towards her dying friend, lying agonizingly still on the stone floor. His eyes were wide in fear and pain as he watched her step nearer to him, his eyes never leaving hers. Katara felt as though she were in a dream. Everything happened to slowly…. as if time was standing still.

The guard forced her to her knees beside Aang, and the tears fell freely from her eyes. This time, she didn't care whether Zhao saw her pain. Everything was numb. The world was numb. She was numb. Was this even _real_? Could this possibly be _her _Aang, lying here on the ground before her, dying? But of course, he wouldn't die… He couldn't. He had always gotten out of trouble and he would do it again.

But as she stared into his stormy grey eyes, which had always been the most stunning color of grey you could find anywhere in the world, she saw… nothing. No smoldering gaze of longing as they peered into each other's eyes, no spark of hope…. there was just… nothing. They had darkened extraordinarily from their normal cinerious tint, and were now nearly black, concealing his dilated pupils which were slowly preparing each image of Katara as the one that could be their last.

He would die. He knew that he would. But it wouldn't be today...

"…. Heal him, peasant." Katara seemed not to hear Zhao as she kept her eyes locked onto the air bender's struggling form, pleading for the Spirits to just take him already. A resounding crash near her left side snapped her from her trance and she jolted as the cold water spilled from the cracked bowl and soaked her kimono through to her skin. She inhaled deeply and began to coax the water from the cloth and heal the bloody gorge in his neck, then forced herself to shoot the Admiral the most hateful look she could muster.

He laughed. He fucking _laughed_.

With how much his throat had healed in her simplest touch, Aang could now breathe more easily and had stopped bleeding for the most part. Katara gathered her courage and raised every drop of water in the room she could source, and blasted Zhao with it, knocking him off of his feet and sending him flying against a wall. She was promptly grabbed by the two guards and dragged off to her cell.

"YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE, ZHAO! YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM, AND I WILL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Zuko watched with wide eyes as she was dragged out of the room, kicking and screaming like a little child. He felt a guard begin to unshackle his wrists, but couldn't seem to break his gaze from the location where Katara had left. When he finally was taken down from the wall, Zuko managed to clear his head enough to participate in reality again and saw Zhao ringing out his dripping uniform, looking pissed.

He seemed to lose his train of thought, strutting around the room a ways before grumbling something and kicking the wall. After some time, the Admiral finally noticed Zuko being held at a distance and froze in his tracks. Bringing up a hand to wipe his mouth, Zhao silently walked towards the young prince. It was a moment before Zuko was free of the Admiral's penetrating gaze into his own eyes, when Zhao chose instead to look at the guard holding him, and Zuko found himself flooded with relief. The look in Zhao's eyes had been terrifying. It was borderline… insane…

"Take _Prince Zuko_ back to his shared cell with the little water bender." The guard made to haul off Zuko as he had been instructed, when Zhao held up his hand to stop the action. He lowered his face to get up close to the other fire bender's and hissed a bout a steam into the latter's eyes, making them water.

"Give that little _slut _a present for me, will you?" A wad of saliva made contact with Zuko's face and he felt it begin to roll down his cheek, shuddering at the crudeness. Zhao laughed haughtily and strode away, whistling a happy tune to himself. As he passed by Azula, she smirked and followed the Admiral, who grabbed Aang by the nape of his throat and dragged him out of the chamber, away from Zuko, who was being carried the other direction. He watched the Avatar through tear-filled eyes, never knowing if he would ever be able to see his friend again...

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Zuko collapsed on the floor of the cell, sobbing into the dirt, the minute he was thrown inside. The young prince could scarcely remember a time when he had felt this much pain, whether it be physical or otherwise. A pair of comforting arms wrapped themselves around his shaking form and drew him in close to Katara's frame, holding him against her for fear of losing him as well. He couldn't remember the last time someone had held him like this, and it made him sob harder, feeling for the first time as though his mother was truly with him again, keeping him safe. They held each other for a long time, tears staining one another's clothing, fingernails digging into their soft flesh as they lost themselves in each other. Neither cared. The pain mattered none, so long as they had hope that their friend would return.

It could have been hours, for all they knew, before the door at the end of the hall clicked open and they were greeted with the heavy thud of footsteps of the guards. The pair, which had stopped crying a while back, were now met with fresh tears as they scrambled to grasp the cage bars. Katara's fingers turned blue, her knuckles white, from the death hold she kept on the steel bars. Her entire frame trembled and her breaths came out shallow and ragged as though there was no oxygen in the wide open room.

Fat, heavy tears rolled down her cheeks, staining them, as she witnessed her best friend being dragged, literally, towards the cage, a thick trail of blood soaking the floor he had touched. He was nude again, and there wasn't an inch of his pale skin that Katara could see which wasn't rubbed raw. The guards dragged by his arms, calloused fingers digging into where a beautiful cerulean tattoo once decorated the skin. The wound had begun to bleed once more, ripping open from the revisited abuse, but if Aang felt that pain over the pain he felt elsewhere, he didn't show it. He stared at the door he had emerged from, refusing to tear his gaze away from it, eyes forever glued in a locked position.

The cage door opened, and Katara sucked in a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, shaking her entire body with the force of her inhale and she ran to the spot where she anticipated he would land as they threw him into the prison cell. She caught him, holding him tight against her frame as his blood began to run onto her kimono, staining the blue a sickening color.

The door clicked shut, but she paid it no mind, focusing instead on the steady pace with which she rocked him, sobbing into the bruised skin which stretched much too tightly over his shoulder cuff. He remained awake, staring into nothingness high above him, as Zuko wrapped his arms around his two friends- comforting Katara and quieting her sobs some. They didn't speak, they didn't even look at one another… they cried every hour of that night, holding his wounds shut and praying to whoever could hear them that he would make it until morning...

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	22. Survival

**New chapter :) I will try to update at the beginning of each week, but no promises as I am quuuiiite busy with events in my life ;) The story is officially HALF OVER! HOOOORRRAYYY!**

**Wait….. that means I have *counting aloud* 1…..2…..3…..4… 20 MORE CHAPTERS?! FUUUUUUUUUUUU-! Hahaha oh well! It'll be a good finale ;) Just you wait!**

**Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT :3**

**Disclaimer: Not my shit. I just like to write Fanfic for this incredibly awesome series ;)**

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**2 months, 2 weeks, 6 days before the arrival of the comet**

It had been three days.

Three days since Zhao mysteriously arose from the dead. Three days since Azula had last come to their cell to gloat or drag his friend away from him. Three days since his best friend had almost died.

And three days since he had last cried.

Aang was curled in on himself in the corner of their shared cell, mumbling to himself (as he had done since waking up) and staring at his hands, which were propped out in front of him, fingers splayed out on the stone wall like spindly grotesque spiders. Zuko had long ago given up on trying to decipher what the airbender continued to mumble to himself, day by day, as he had since abandoned the list of his past lives and had now moved on to something completely unintelligible.

He refused to sleep, staring at his hands, day and night. They never moved from their position, and neither did he. His legs splayed out limply at odd angles on the cold floor in front of him and had become blue from the lessened flow of blood circulating through his body, with most of it staying near to his heart, keeping him alive.

Katara's arms were wrapped securely around his frame, and the sharp contrast of her dark shin against his made him look all the more skeletal than he already seemed, the blood from her missing finger leaving a thin river winding across Aang's stomach. Zuko shuddered at the image of how Aang had returned to them that night: head shaven, puncture wounds lining his body, broken limbs, and the blood... so much blood.

The two friends had worked tirelessly to suppress the wounds with their hands, but the liquid had still managed to leak through their fingers, surpassing even their most desperate attempts to contain it. Through his tears, Zuko had watched as the airbender's body shook with each inhale he had managed to take, saliva gurgling down his chin as he had no inclination to clean himself up. The focus was to stay alive… Though it would've been a better option to simply move on in another form.

A tear wound its way down the plain of Zuko's cheek. It would be better for Aang to die. He's been through so much in his thirteen years in the world: losing his people; missing 100 years; waking up to a war-torn world; being captured, raped, and nearly beaten to death several times… But, no. You see, Zuko was selfish… And Aang was the only person in his entire life for whom he cared more than he did for himself. He was his best friend, and the Prince knew that he could never bear the thought of that one friend leaving him alone in the world... to be reborn, only to not even remember him when they would chance to meet again.

He braved stealing another glimpse at his weakened friend, the Avatar, but turned away not a moment later. His body carried a sickly grey hue on the skin, blending into an ornery plum shade amongst his joints… not normal colors any human body should appear even in the harshest of conditions. The repulsive scar which decorated one half of his friend's face had become yellow in color with splashes of purple decorating the outer edges of the jagged fissure. If possible, he seemed more malnourished than when he had first been rescued from Zhao's fortress, though they fed him well enough in Azula's special prison. His knee and elbow joints protruded substantially from the areas around his forearm and thigh, and his ribs appeared as though they were verging on ripping through the flesh encasing them, stretching it so thin that it resembled mere parchment holding its own against a battle axe.

And he was still... so still.

And there was so much blood...

A soft, scraping sound drew Zuko from his reverie, and he heard the young waterbender gasp sharply. Aang's fingertips steadily withdrew themselves from the stone, dragging downward harshly before coming to rest atop Katara's hands, lacing the dexterities with her own. His eyes continued to follow their every move.

His chanting stopped. All was silent.

Katara slowly shifted so that she held Aang upright, his head lolling lifelessly against her shoulder, eyes staring blankly at nothing. But they weren't completely blank… there was something screaming at him from deep within their molten abyss- screaming terror… A warning.

"Aang? What is it? What's wrong?" Katara's pleading eyes gazed into his unfocused orbs, lined with terror, then glanced up at Zuko, begging him to do something- anything- to help their friend. Zuko slowly braced himself against the wall, using his leg muscles to pull him up into a standing position, and looked over at the opposite corner of the room to where the water bender gripped onto Aang for dear life.

"Aang?" As the fire Prince's voice rang through the cell, the Avatar's eyes darted quickly around the room once before settling on him, recognition lacing the grey orbs.

"Z….Zu.. k?" Aang's eyes brimmed over with tears as he struggled to speak, the puncture wound continuing to hinder him. The Prince ran quickly over to his friend and hushed his fears, stroking his face soothingly and ushering the Avatar into serenity. Aang's breathing began to slow and, with it, his heart decelerated quickly and his body became relaxed and calm, shoulders sagging.

"I'm here, Aang." Zuko shushed. "I'm not going anywhere. You're safe now." The boy in his arms became still, his eyelids drooping and finally closing against the onset of sleep which slowly overcame him. The young airbender went limp and Zuko wrapped his arms tightly around his small frame, holding him close against his body- attempting to provide the boy with some heat, in the hope that he would make it through yet another night.

Zuko inhaled deeply through his nose as he battled the tears pressing against the inside of his lids, trying hard not to cry for his friend. The room seemed to quake with his inner conflict as Zuko's body shook to contain his grief. Only… the room _was_ quaking. Pebbles danced on the floor around him, and Katara's eyes grew wide as she drew near to him for protection from the thundering noise which began to encase the trio. Whatever Aang had been trying to warn them about through his frightened eyes, they were now about to face head on.

A loud bellow from behind the wall drew the bender's attention to the stone on his immediate left, the same direction from which the rumbling seemed to emit from, and an abrupt clanging shortly followed. The metal object on the other side connected with the stone again and again, becoming louder each time, until light began to flood the small cell.

With one last cry of exertion, Sokka burst through the wall and clambered into the dark encasing.

"Sokka!" Katara jumped up, leaving Zuko to support Aang's limp figure, and tackled her brother in an emotional embrace, sobbing loudly onto his shoulder and staining his favorite shirt. After returning the embrace and shedding a few tears into his sister's hair, the young warrior held Katara at arms length, his expression becoming serious and grim.

"We need to get you guys out of here." He turned to face Zuko, sitting only a few feet away with the Avatar draped lifelessly across his lap. "Your uncle Iroh is waiting passed the outer wall for us. He'll escort us out of this hellhole and take us to a safe house near the Earth Kingdom capitol."

"Ba Sing Se?" Zuko questioned the warrior. Sokka nodded grimly and glanced out of his manmade tunnel, presumably to the spot where Iroh was stationed at this very moment, then turned back to the banished Prince.

"We'd better get moving. Who knows when a guard will show up?" Sokka quickly grabbed hold of one of the Avatar's forearms, supporting a large part of his companion's body weight, as Zuko righted himself and grabbed Aang's other side before the two teens began to carry Aang from the formidable cage. Katara followed shortly behind them, checking behind her every so often to make certain that they weren't being followed.

As they slowly made their way down the side of the hill supporting Azula's prison hold, the men made small talk, fixedly skirting around the subject of the trio's imprisonment. Sokka knew his sister would tell him when she wanted to talk, and judging by Aang's grotesque condition, he wasn't sure if their story was one that he was ready to hear. So, instead, he told them about various advances made by the resistance- raids, victorious battles, rescuing Toph from her captors before she had been hurt at all, and the newest couple of Team Avatar.

"You're DATING Toph?!" Katara exclaimed. Whirling on her brother in disbelief and shock. Sokka merely shrugged and explained that he liked her hard-headed personality and that she, like most other girls, only went for the best.

Katara rolled her eyes, "Sokka, she's _blind_."

"I _know _that! What can I say?! It must just be my stunning personality that she's after! In any case-" They had come to a dead end, hitting the very edge of the prison hold, sealed off by a 30 foot stone wall. Sauntering up close to the large shield, Sokka raised his right hand and swiftly smacked his palm hard against the solid rock twice. A low rumbling sounded and the dust swirled around them as the wall split into three sections, carved too straight to be naturally formed, the middle of which swiftly lowering into the earth beneath it, creating a pathway to the other side. When the dust had cleared, Katara and Zuko saw Iroh standing mere feet away from the wall, arms folded politely into his sleeves, as Toph leaned smugly against the wall in front of him.

"'Bout time, Sugar Queen. I almost thought you guys were going to keep me waiting here forever." Katara had half a mind to wipe that smug grin off of her cocky face, but then she thought better of it and tackled the young earth bender into an endearing hug, praying she would never lose this moment in a thousand years. But before she could forget where she was and relish in the sweet freedom of their escape, a sickly cough erupted from Aang's lungs, bringing her back to the reality of their situation. Iroh seemed to sense the change in her urgency.

"We need to keep moving." He addressed the group as a whole, locking eyes with each of them before turning and beginning their retreat. Zuko scooped up Aang's legs from underneath him and cradled him, bridal style, with the air bender's head held tightly against Zuko's warm shoulder where (bless the Spirits) a_ smile _graced his lips.

Iroh assured the small band that he was guiding them to a place which was well-guarded- a safe house, in a sense- but that it would be a long journey, and a rough one at that. Half way across the world, traveling through various mountain ranges and other natural obstacles, he explained that his hide out was secluded and impossible to find.

"Unless of course, you've gone there for 48 years- which it's a lucky thing that I have!" The gang all chuckled lightly at the simplicity of the joke, stunned by how well it had worked to lighten the atmosphere. All the while, Aang slept on. His head was nuzzled safely in the crook of Zuko's neck, away from all the terrors and horrors of the world.

It appeared as though they could finally find peace in the world.

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	23. 21: Road to Recovery

**Hey guys! Soooo sorry for the slow update :( I'mmmmm busyyyyy! College is coming up fast for little ol' me, but I'll continue to try to update whenever I possibly can! :) **

**Feel free to PM me whenever your little hearts desire! I always have time to read your questions, comments, and deepest wishes ;) (I just tend to suffer from terrible writer's block all the time! Per usual, I will send out an A/N if something should ever come up and my update would happen to be delayed significantly, as my mom's not in the best of health :(**

**Thank you (as always) to my wonderful readers and reviewers! I love reading your feedback!**

**On to the chapter of words and sentences!**

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**Also… I don't own Avatar. Mike and Bryan do ;)**

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The tears leaked from her eyes, running the width of her cheek before nestling snuggly in the thick locks which whipped around her face wildly in the opposing air currents. Her lungs screamed for air and tightened her throat painfully as her heart throbbed in her ears, pulsating rapidly like a drum of war. The small band ran for their lives, deftly dodging every fireball thrown their way by their oncoming attackers.

It had only been a day.

Word had somehow gotten out that the Avatar was, in fact, alive and on the run from Azula's fortress, located on the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom. Iroh and Zuko had worked together famously to help the group evade known fire camps and military routes, but, in the end, it had all been too little. They had accidentally stumbled upon a small army camp, deep within an uncharted forest. The gang quickly fled the site, but the small militia never stayed too far behind, always remaining within view of the young benders.

Aang wasn't yet awake, and Zuko gripped the boy close to him- keeping the unconscious Avatar tight to his back- while still managing to outmaneuver everyone and make it to the front of the group. Katara's eyes were drawn to Iroh's figure as a loose shot nearly removed his head. With an enraged cry, he doubled back and created a wall of fire between them and the line of Kimono Rhinos, causing nearly half of the army's transportation to be destroyed entirely. Shooting a smug glance in the Commander's direction, Iroh rejoined the group- his improved frame making it easy for him to keep pace with the teens. He was at Sokka's side, almost immediately.

"We are going to run out of a floor to run on pretty soon." He warned. "Follow close to me, and we may be able to lose them." In response, Sokka nodded swiftly and glanced over his shoulder at the approaching rhinos and their determined riders.

"I'll follow where your lead, General." Iroh smiled at the boy and pressed forward, leaving Toph and Katara to merge in behind Sokka as they continued to sprint on. Iroh quickly passed Zuko, and continued to lead the group forward still, though the ground appeared to end abruptly ahead. It was as though the Earth simply ceased to exist beyond the certain, designated point: jagged rocks cleanly cut in a line across the horizon. Beyond that, there was nothing but the surrounding air.

The earthen walls began to encase them on either side, trapping them on their path toward their imminent doom. Some of the rhinos balked at the vanishing floor, throwing their riders off harshly and slamming into each other as they hurriedly attempted to escape the shrinking prison.

"Get those rhinos in check!" the Commander shouted. "Steady them! We don't want to lose sight of the fugitives!" Toph instantly took this as her cue and swiftly leapt into the air, raising her arms in a flapping motion, and bringing down an avalanche of stone with the backswing. Katara, whom had stopped to insure Toph's safety, now patted the young girl's back approvingly before ushering her forward. Satisfied with her work, Toph sprinted to join the others as Katara kept watch for any survivors. When she turned back, she watched in horror as Toph's back disappeared sharply to the left of the opening. With a jolt, Katara screamed and lunged forward to peer over the cliff-face, but was shocked to see no earth bender falling to her death. Though confused, she still balked at the far-off ground below- estimating it to be roughly 3,000 feet tall at its vertical- and abruptly lost her balance.

A strong hand gripped tightly onto her kimono and reined her back in, pulling her away from the edge and pinning her to the solid wall behind her. Her gaze traveled the length of the arm, up passed the shoulder, to her brother's face. Her heart hammered wildly in her ears, and her hands shook gently as she wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing quietly against him.

Sokka stroked her hair lovingly, providing warmth and comfort for his younger sister and himself. He had half-imagined his eyes would rip from their sockets the moment he saw her stumble, almost plummeting to her death. His fingers tenderly wound their way into her tresses, pulling his sibling tighter against him, as if to convince himself that Katara was truly safe from harm- that he wasn't imagining it.

"Guys," Zuko interrupted, "we need to keep moving." Katara and Sokka glanced up at the fire prince as they broke apart, then lowered their eyes to the ground and followed reluctantly. In all truth, they were done. How much longer were they expected to suffer? When would the fighting end?

In the few months since they had met Aang, the two siblings had experienced more than anyone should have to face in their entire lifetime. They had each been captured by Azula, after losing Aang; by Zuko, at the North Pole; and now, by Zhao. Though they would never admit it or speak of it near Aang, the two of them had reluctantly taken the lives of many soldiers… too many than they could justify. In that time, they had been forced into the exile of nearly every surviving nation: enemies of the fire nation, and unwanted by the earth kingdom (for fear of leading the fire nation to the villages that they would travel through).

Aang had been raped, brutally, by a monster who refused to die. He had lost so much… and there was absolutely no end to his pain. At the temple, Roku had warned the young Avatar that the Fire Lord needed to be defeated before the arrival of the comet, if the world was to ever live in harmony. With the comet less than three months away, and three more elements to master, Aang was in no shape to battle the source of the world's terror- let alone, fight even the smallest platoon of soldiers. He was far too weak, and far too deeply wounded, mentally and emotionally, to handle the concept of the ongoing war. In any normal situation, a person in the Avatar's situation would be given two months, minimum, to heal, with an additional four months for intensive psychoanalytical therapy and the balancing of his nutrition.

Zuko, holding the unconscious airbender, stumbled frequently as he inched his way along the narrow edge. To their left, there was a vertical cliff face; to their right, the 3,000 foot drop. The only thing which kept the group from falling to their deaths, was a three foot wide ledge of crumbling stone. The world below them seemed almost dreamlike: a dense, blue fog covering the thick shrubbery which, in turn, emitted an erie silence despite its vast expanse.

She shook her head to bring her mind back to reality, and saw that Sokka had stopped in front of her. Katara stepped closer and peered curiously over her brother's shoulders. The general, leading the group, had come across something which unmistakably appeared to be a cave of some sort, and was now inspecting the area for security purposes (going as far as jumping hard on the very ledge to make certain it wouldn't give way on them).

"We will camp here for the night." The teenagers didn't argue with him, and made their way to the opening, collapsing the moment their feet hit its shadow. Katara had never been so exhausted in her life. Toph slowly leaned against Sokka who, in turn, draped an arm lazily across her shoulders, pulling her frame nearer to his. Zuko, with Aang, and Iroh stood a few yards away, making small talk outside the cave so as not to disturb their younger friends with the loud echoing of their voices.

From their position, Katara could distinctly make out a rounded form in the distance, sitting directly on the horizon. She decided to ask General Iroh, removing her body from the floor and slowly making her way towards the two, voicing her question to him.

"Ah, I see you have noticed what many do not. That, my dear water bender, are the great outer walls of Ba Sing Se."

"_That's_ Ba Sing Se? But I thought we would have been closer than _this_ by now!" She shrieked, mentally kicking herself when Aang let out a startled groan from Zuko's arms, scrunching his eyes against the noise and nestling his face deeper into the fire bender's shirt. Reddening at the realization that his companion was still naked in his arms, Zuko softly laid Aang against the stone wall, resting his arms atop his shrunken stomach, and tore off a large strip of cloth near the bottom of his shirt. Twisting it around Aang's hips, the prince made a make shift pair of underwear for the boy from the cloth (though it wasn't anything remarkable, it still got the job done) and stepped back to give his friend room as he began to open his eyes.

Toph had sensed Aang's heart beat change, and dragged her boyfriend roughly over to the spot where he was waking up, standing amongst their friends as they eagerly awaited his return to reality. Katara knelt down near to his figure and softly stoked his smooth head, whispering sweet nothings in his ear, coaxing him from unconsciousness.

Slowly, so slowly, his eyelids slid open to reveal his stormy orbs, the right of which was laced with a startling amount of pain and sorrow. Katara nearly lost it when his eye met hers, the inner torment within the boy practically swallowing her whole, his eyes beginning to water with his affliction as her cerulean eyes peered back at him.

Aang was finally awake. But his rode to recovery would be a slow and painful one. The gash which decorated the entire left side of his face was now horribly infected, and had begun to discolor the skin surrounding the cut. The various holes lining his body, refused to heal and Katara feared she would never be able to speed the process along. She couldn't do it alone. She needed help.

Katara knew that if the team didn't find another able-bodied healer soon, Aang would, in fact, die

**Soooooooo? Whadidya think? Bien? Mal? Asi Asi? **

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	24. 22: Dismal Past

**HEY GUYS! Sooooo… Sorry about the serious delay in my update. I've been super busy trying to adjust to my new life XP It's CRAAAAAAZZYYY! **

**So I finally got my new Wacom Bamboo Create tablet! XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD And I must declare: HOLY SHIT IT IS UTTERLY FANTASTIC! (If you enjoy artsy fartsy crafts… get yoselves one o these babays!) I'll have the art of ZukoxKataraxAang up sometime next week on DA (same ****pen name) so you can feel free to enjoy!…. Also, if you want a visual of a scene in one of my chapters (past of present) feel free to ask and I'll draw it in my spare time ;)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, I would play Katara and the new season of LOK would have been out mooonnnths agooo!**

**NOW READ MY CHAPTER!**

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A tear leaked from his eye as stars danced rapidly before him while his vision began to clear. Vivid flashbacks and grotesque imagery caused a low hiss to escape from his trembling lips and mingle with the roar of cascading water a ways away from his current location. They were all there. Katara and Zuko, of course, had been with him at the time of their imprisonment; but Sokka, Toph, and the Great General Iroh now stood before him, prompting the burning question to arise as to how long exactly he had been out, and what had happened in that time...

His throat unwillingly released a groan as he pushed his weight off of his blistering back, which had been marring itself on the harsh stone, and shifted himself into a sitting position.

"Drink this," Iroh instructed. A curved leaf edge was pressed to his lips, where he felt a cool liquid begging for entrance, which he immediately granted. Aang almost sang in pure rapture as the water soothed his cracked throat, dissipating the caked blood in his mouth, and leaving him with a clean, absent taste on his tongue. And while his body screamed at him for nourishment, he blatantly ignored it- simply pleased to have any other taste in his mouth other than that of his own blood.

A rough cough escaped his throat and tears sprang to his eyes as he struggled to regain his composure, Katara offering a supportive hand to steady him. When Aang felt he could finally begin to breathe normally again, he once again surveyed his circle of friends- all staring down at him with concern and pity in their eyes. As he righted himself, he faintly noticed the small strip of cloth covering his lower abdomen and pelvic region, and realized with relief that someone must have covered him while he had been asleep.

"How… long was I out?" Aang asked his companions, briefly noting the smooth skin covering the top of his head. Memories flooded back into the forefront of his mind and ripped his reality apart at the seams as he once again felt Zhao's nails digging into him, tearing at his flesh, as he thrust again and again and again.. He shook his head to clear the horrid thoughts and caught the very end of Zuko's response, before sheepishly asking him to repeat it, still shaken by the memory.

"I said 'just a little over a day'." He sighed. It pained his very soul to see his friend in so much constant pain, and it absolutely _killed_ him to be utterly useless in the inner conflict which plagued the airbender so. With sudden fire, the young prince wrapped up his friend in a comforting embrace, quieting the sobs that erupted as the strong arms enveloped Aang's frame.

Could he finally be free now? Was it truly… over?

Fat tears rolled down the sides of his face, splashing onto his chest and mixing together with the sweat coating his torso. His breathing was heavy and his eyes squeezed tightly together, blocking out the demons of his past as his surrounding companions tried desperately to calm the boy. His sobs escalated in volume, and soon his entire frame wracked violently with the force of the anguish consuming his spirit. Aang couldn't possibly discern the reason for his tears- whether they were of sadness, anger, or joy at the very least- nor could he contain the grief which was now pouring from him.

Katara joined the embrace, and she was quickly followed by the other three, wrapping their arms around the boy and protecting him from the cruel world in which they lived. The eldest pulled away at the moment that the Avatar's sobs quieted, and took the time to search the horizon, gazing on at their distant goal: Ba Sing Se.

"We need to move on." Iroh's voice broke the silence, startling the group from its serenity, and causing a few fresh tears to escape the young Avatar's eyes. He unhesitatingly wiped them away with his thinned forearm and brusquely stood from the dirt, ripping the comforting arms from his figure and standing with the General, looking off into the distance alongside him.

All their hopes, their dreams, the entire future of their small little band… rested behind those ominous walls. They were all that was left. The other members of the resistance group had either been captured or killed outright- Hakoda included. Aang could feel the pain emanating from his two friends at the loss of their father. In the way Sokka had described it, the fate of their father appeared grim, the last image of Hakoda that Sokka had seen being a fire bender dragging the chief away into the brush. Who could know whether or not Azula had granted him the privilege of seeing another day?

Katara was being strong, though inside she was steadily crumbling. Her outer walls were breaking down, allowing glimpses of her true emotions to peek through every so often. Though the water bender had never really been closed off in terms of her inner struggles, Katara was not one to wear her heart on her sleeve. Losing her mother at an early age had allowed her to believe that it was her duty to protect others and put them before herself, always staying strong in times of a crisis. Her dreams, her future, her peace of mind- lay behind those walls.

And Aang promised to himself briefly that he would bring her peace, if it were the last thing he ever did.

"General Iroh?" The wind tore at his blistering throat, and the Avatar swallowed his pain before continuing. "Do you really think… that this war- that is to say, well…" He sighed, the General's eyes peering at the young boy curiously, as he patiently waited for the finished prompt.

Inhale. Exhale. _Center yourself._

"Do _you _believe that I'm… _strong_ enough… to finally end this?" His voice broke at the end, wavering in despair and fear of Iroh's response. The elderly man looked away from the burdened child, quickly catching the tears before they left his eyes. It was utterly heartbreaking… to hear a young boy, who has gone through so much in so little time, continue to put the world before himself and his own needs. It hurt to remind himself again and again that Aang was, indeed, the last of his kind- his people have been slaughtered and decades passing without his knowledge. _Frozen for a century… _Iroh still shuddered at the revelation of the poor child's life. He'd been through so much...

"Yes, Aang," he finally responded, smiling at the air bender before him, "I think you have the strength, courage, and patience to see this war through to the very end and defeat my brother in the final showdown. But always remember that you are never alone in this battle; your friends will always stand beside you in all that you strive for." It was in that moment that Aang felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder, and he inclined his head to peer more closely at the water tribe warrior who had been there with him since the very beginning of it all. A young fire prince (and his best friend), who had changed his ways to see Aang through his darkest hours, was standing directly behind Sokka, looking on with a reassuring smile at the boy whose destiny was to save the world. Toph stood beside him, looking on the scene with an unreadable expression on her face, but with kindness in her hollow eyes- committing herself to assist Aang in earth bending in any way she could.

Behind them all, watching from the shadows with tears in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks, was the very woman who held his heart and soul. Katara was there for him and beside him. Toph and Zuko were there beside him. And Sokka was there beside him. He was not alone. He _would_ master the elements to the best of his ability, and he _would _defeat Firelord Ozai before the comet arrived.

The world needed its savior… One who, until now, had been believed to be deceased… But Aang defiantly smirked at the thought of all of the useless attempts to deter his efforts in ending this war. He knew now that, so long as his friends stood beside him, there was nothing that could stop him.

Wordlessly, he stood from his position on the ground. He had lost the strength in his legs at some point in time during it all, and his scraped knees screamed at him to rest. Steadily, deliberately, he lifted his eyes to meet each of his companions: the general, Sokka, Zuko, Katara, and Toph (though she couldn't exactly see it), before peering back at the distant outline of Ba Sing Se. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees below and gently caressed Aang's face, causing a tear to slip silently down the plain of his face, as Gyatso's invisible presence swirled itself around him and seemed to flow through his very veins.

He turned back to his friends, shamelessly wiping the liquid from his face, and smiled at the five who had been there with him through it all… He could do it. He knew that now. Aang gently walked over and grasped Katara's hand, lacing the fingers between her own, and smiled at the comforted expression which came across her face at the simple action. Returning his attention to the group as a whole, he brightly smiled at them all- content filling his heart and allowing him to, once more, feel himself.

"Let's do it."

**Review!**

******IMPORTANT******* I'll most likely be doing a sequel to this… Cuz yeah. Next one will be all about how he is going to recover from his past, master ALL the elements, defeat the ****fire lord, and still have time to go into the jewelry making business! Just kidding on that last part XD… But anyways, there's a poll on my profile page: PLEASE TAKE IT! (Much obliged) **

**Stay on the look out for Part TWOOOO!**

**With love,**

**xxTAxx**


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